CAPE CORAL, Fla. — There's talk about a change to Cape Coral's infrastructure to make cycling, walking, even taking a scooter, safe and easier.
It's a first for Cape Coral, in a city where nearly 80% of people drive to work, with an average 28 minute commute, a multi-modal transportation plan is in the works.
Resident Thomas Fournier came out to a workshop the city held on Wednesday night to listen in on the proposals and voice his own concerns. He suggests adding four way stops near Diplomat, Santa Barbara, and a few other areas in Cape Coral.
"We need traffic lights in north Cape Coral. It's getting real busy," Fournier said.
Busy — and dangerous.
"The four way stops have gotten really congested," attendee Sally Rabe said.
Acccording to data presented at the workshop, 6,400 crashes happened in 2022. The city says it's working to protect drivers, cyclists and pedestrians by making corridors that can safely support micro-mobility.
Laura Dodd is the project manager working with Volkert, a team of engineering consultants. They say there's a need for more sidewalks, public transit and electric scooters in Cape Coral. They're looking at other cities that have multi-modal transportation plans to see what worked elsewhere to implement here. They're researching the City of Pensacola and Port St. Lucie for reference.
With the population growing past 200,000 people, another focus of the plan is connecting Del Prado Blvd. with I-75 — that's past Cape and into North Fort Myers, making parts of Cape Coral easier to reach.
Sally and her husband Jim Rabe say they think this is a good idea.
"For businesses that have less accessibility to Cape Coral... if we want more business here, which I think everyone does, if we make it easier for businesses to transport their merchandise, by having a closer on and off route to 75 it would help everyone," Rabe said.
The $1 billion in federal money coming to Lee County for Ian recovery could help pay for it. City Council will need to adopt the plan for it to move forward. That decision is set for March 2024.
There will be another meeting in January. Click here for project details and to watch a recap of the June 21 meeting.
