Charlotte County’s Live Oak Park repairs complete nearly two years after Irma

Two years after Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage, a Charlotte County park is almost back to normal.

“We really do love this park on Bayshore a lot,” said Kim Pekala, who lives in Niceville.

Pekala’s kids love Charlotte Harbor’s Bayshore Live Oak Park so much, they wanted to stay on the swing while she talked to WINK News Wednesday afternoon. However, during a previous visit, the park had more orange than green.

“Maybe in October when I came,” Pekala said, “I might have seen some orange netting over here.”

There have been netting, barricades and cones scattered throughout the park for months. It has been keeping visitors away from the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

Nearly $900,000 worth of repairs are now complete and the county is expected to finish its review in the next week.

Frequent visitors, like Charles Klopman, said they had seen a significant difference. But, the construction workers will not clear out of the area for a while.

Crews at the nearby Sunseeker Resorts Charlotte Harbor are building a boardwalk, steps away from where Bayshore Park’s sidewalk ends.

Now, the county and Sunseeker are in talks to connect the two properties extending the park’s walkway by nearly 2,000 feet.

“Everybody likes to walk on the water,” said Christina Ortiz, who lives in Port Charlotte. “There is always a nice breeze. Especially during the sunrise, sunset.”

It allows people to take in the beauty along the Charlotte Harbor, from new places and old favorites.

“It seems like everything is back to normal,” Pekala said.