LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Construction has started on a new walking and biking path in Lehigh Acres, which is intended to give children a safer route to school and connect families to local parks and amenities.
The nearly six-mile pathway will stretch from Harns Marsh to Joel Boulevard, providing families who live within walking distance of Lehigh Elementary School an alternative way to get to school.
"This gives a lot of families opportunity to maybe bike to school that didn't have it before, and to keep them off of the road where the vehicles are," Lee County Project Consultant Jennifer Dorning said.
Click here to see Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with the Lee County Project Consultant about the pathway:
With school back in session, Lehigh Acres parents have repeatedly expressed concerns about their children walking to school along busy roads. The new pathway project aims to address these safety concerns.
"It's almost a 6-mile pathway, and it goes all the way from Harnes Marsh all the way down to Joel Boulevard. So it's almost 6 miles, right? So that's a big stretch of keeping people off the road, being able to access different parks, being able to access the elementary school," Dorning said.
The path will serve multiple purposes beyond providing a school route. Families will also have access to parks, a pedestrian bridge and pavilions along the pathway.
While construction crews stage at Lehigh Acres Park, the park will remain open to visitors. Dorning says contractors will work with canal-side neighbors if anything needs to be moved from the construction area.
The pathway project is expected to be completed by fall 2027.
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