Grandmother says Fort Myers roadway dangerous for crossing

A grandmother said she is forced to play a dangerous game when she walks her grandchildren to school. She said it’s a matter of time before someone gets hit on their way to or home from school.

There is no stop light or crosswalk along a stretch of Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers.

Elizabeth Tary walks her grandkids to Edgewood Renaissance Academy, which is right near Palm Beach Blvd. and Tarpon Street.

“They have to walk,” Tary said. “Not all of us can afford a car.”

But Tary said no one should ever have to walk to school under these dangerous conditions.

“We’ve got three different groups of parents that will pick a different place,” Tary said. “Because neither one of us know what’s the safest area to pick.”

Tary and her grandkids choose to cross the road at the intersection with Tarpon St.

”There’s a crosswalking sign,” Tary said. “So I figured that would be your safest.”

It’s also right by the kids’ school. But without a light or marked crosswalk on the road, her grandchildren said cars keep whizzing by.

“The people don’t stop,” Tary’s grandkids said. “They don’t follow the laws. They just keep on going. Yeah, they keep on going.”

And they said the worst part is getting stuck in the median while they cross.

”This morning, after we brought the kids to school and started heading back, an accident happened right where we cross,” Tary said. “The boys are so precious to me that I’ve come all the way from Ohio down here to help my daughter with these guys.”

Three people have been hit and killed on Palm Beach Blvd. in 2019. We contacted the City of Fort Myers to see if officials would consider installing a crosswalk or change safety measures along the road, but we have not heard back yet.

She holds their hands tight when they cross the road together.

“I’m just so afraid that one day we will get hit crossing that road,” Tary said.