Cape Coral asking for residents input on improving busy corridor

Nobody likes sitting in traffic, but since new homes and condos are going up across Southwest Florida, experts believe it’s time to start doing something about it.

So many developments are going up on a stretch of Pine Island Road from Nicholas Parkway to Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral.

The city of Cape Coral is trying to plan what a corridor will look like 50 years from now. Officials are planning a virtual meeting and they want to hear from the locals.

“I’m not in a hurry. You know you get there swear a little bit to yourself or something like that and you forget about it,” Bob Molnar, a Cape Coral resident said.

“Around rush hour it’s pretty bad. You can get slowed down for quite a while, especially down by Andalusia,” Aaron Brackenbury, another Cape Coral resident said.

For the time being, it’s a smooth drive close to lunchtime down the corridor. However, that may change after what the mayor calls, Cape’s major corridor for commercial development is finished.

“We know that this area is going to be an explosive growth area and a need to make sure we have the capacity there that’s going to be needed today and for the future,” Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter said.

Mayor Gunter told WINK News the corridor needs attention now, and that’s why the city moved up a study on the Nine-mile stretch, originally set for 2030.

Cape Coral, Lee County, and the Florida Department of Transportation want driver input and are asking drivers to rank what they see as priorities and where changes must be made. The point is to help guide transportation and land use decisions for the next 50 years.

“Everybody wants growth and to endure the growth you have to deal with the little issues and headaches,” Donna Elwell, a Cape Coral resident said.

Click here to see the survey where you can voice your thoughts on what you think should be included. You can rank your top five priorities such as street lights, additional travel lanes, and sidewalks. Then you can pinpoint exactly where on Pine Island Rd. you want to see some of those improvements.