Bonita Spring $4M bike path widening project to narrow vehicle lanes

Bike lanes on a Bonita Springs roadway are set to be made wider, while the vehicle lanes will become narrower.

The City of Bonita Springs plans to create a $4 million bicycle path down West Terry Street; meanwhile, the project will cause the roadway to become narrower.

The city project comes as good news to people who walk and ride their bikes along West Terry.

“It makes the kids safer going back-and-forth to school, the bikers and pedestrians safer,” said Peggy McShea in Bonita Springs.

The change comes at an expense to drivers on the road, as each lane will become one foot shorter in width to make way for the new pathway.

“Probably, I would prefer not to have it narrow,” said Valary Banker in Bonita Springs. “If it’s narrower, it’s a bigger car like my Highlander or my husband’s SUV. Yes. Then, it would be harder.”

Not everyone is worried about the narrower lanes for cars and other roadway vehicles.

“I’m not so sure that that’s going to be as much of a problem,” said Rick Davis in Bonita Springs.

Davis is more concerned about the construction time for the project compared to the outcome after project completion.

“It’s going to create a nightmare this winter because people are going to have to find alternate routes to get around,” Davis said. “And traffic’s never any good in the winter here.”