Lee County helps fund improvements for Estero Parkway

ESTERO, Fla. Mayor Jim Boesch’s top priority is making Estero Parkway safer for pedestrians.

I saw a lady who had two babies..and she was walking on the street & when you look at Estero Parkway when you get down to the railroad crosses you have to go into the road you’re not gonna just be able to run a carriage or even sometimes walk over the tracks

Those who have walked the road themselves agree.

“I’ve walked them, jogged them for the last 20 something years,” said resident John Deacy. “It’s not complete, it’s dangerous.”

Lee County agreed to give the village $500,000 to improve the road and another $1.6 million for missing sidewalks.

But covering the rest of the costs will cost the village a significant amount of money, which is why the majority of council members say they need to see more before getting started.

“We talked about a two-phase project today, doing the street first and then the sidewalks next spring possibly,” Boesch said. But that’s going to be probably delayed until we resolve the overall plan.”

Boesch predicts the entire project could cost up to $4 million.

No date has been set for the next workshop.