CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A new sidewalk is coming to a popular Cape Coral road.
At tonight’s city council meeting, council members approved a resolution for the design of sidewalks near Oasis Elementary North Charter School.
Plans are in order for a new addition. A five-foot wide sidewalk, running on both sides of SW 29th Avenue from Ceitus Parkway to SW 3rd Lane.
“I think it’s a great idea because we have a park here, the school, a lot of parents walking back and forth,” says Paul Werner, a Cape Coral resident. Werner is one of a few homeowners along the proposed path for the sidewalk.
According to the city manager’s office, the City of Cape Coral has been successful in obtaining grant funding for the sidewalks around schools for the next five years. The city recently received a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation for the engineering and design of the sidewalk near Oasis Elementary North. For residents like Werner, it gives them peace of mind.
“It’ll keep them out of the road with a lot of traffic and a lot of buses,” he says.
The foundation has been set for the 5-foot sidewalk to run along both sides of 29th Avenue. With the road being just outside of the school, and a number of homes, it could be a safe alternative for students heading to class.
“I think drivers, in some cases, are very indiscriminate when they’re coming up this road and sometimes they come up a little too fast,” says Abraham Hernandez, another Cape Coral resident.
For Hernandez, and his dog Coco, walking up the road is a daily activity. The prospect of having a sidewalk seems to be a no-brainer.
“That sounds great!" he says. "Sounds like a great thing for everybody, especially the kids when they walk to school. It’ll probably be great for them because you hear the sad things about kids getting hurt all the time from drivers who don’t have any respect for themselves or anybody else. Just texting, you know?”
According to the City Manager’s office, they also expect to receive a construction grant for the sidewalk in 2023. In all, it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“It’s a lot of money," says Werner. "I mean, too bad it’s so short of a run, you know? But whatever we can get, we can get right?”
You can find more information about the resolution online right here.
