Downtown Fort Myers two-way conversion causes driver confusion

Reporter: Gail Levy Writer: Paul Dolan
Published: Updated:
two-way
Two-way road conversion in downtown Fort Myers. (CREDIT: WINK News)

Crews will begin converting Palm Beach Blvd. in downtown Fort Myers into a two-way road Monday evening.

There’s a lot of change in the works which will require drivers to break old habits. The intersection at Palm Beach Blvd. and Seaboard St. has traffic going straight through the intersection toward downtown. And, for the first time allowing drivers to go left.

Meanwhile, traffic on Seaboard St. has to watch out for traffic going left, before they can make the left on Palm Beach Blvd.

Drivers are worrying the intersection is not safe.

Fort Myers resident Austin Smith said, “I’m not gonna lie the first day that it actually became a two-way, I was confused.”

Smith is talking about the city of Fort Myers turning Seaboard St. from one-way traffic to two. Now it’s the same process happening on Palm Beach Blvd.

Smith said, “I just hope people pay attention. Because if not that’s gonna cause some issues.”

The city has said so far, that the two-way conversion hasn’t caused any crashes.

Fort Myers resident, Melinda Krichbaum said, “I pay extra attention only to looking right when I’m trying to pass through Second Street and then I like one the other day and I was like I need to look left too!”

Krichbaum said, “I actually had two different occasions where I have seen people going the wrong way now.”

The Fort Myers Police Department said they’re supposed to have officers out and about for the construction. But, it’s basically making sure drivers aren’t heading into head-on traffic. Something that Smith has already gotten a warning call on.

Smith said, “next thing you know there’s a cop behind me and a whoop whoop and he didn’t turn on his lights but he made the noise so I’m like oh snap well I don’t know who is pulling over so I just want to head and came on through here anyway and went inside and left. He didn’t say nothing to me!”

FMPD said the officers are supposed to be out there to educate drivers about the process. Although WINK News didn’t see any.

The two-way conversion is expected to be complete by Friday.

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