Potholes creating problems for drivers in Cape Coral

Writer: Sommer Senne
Published: Updated:
A pothole in Cape Coral.
Potholes on Kismet Parkway in Cape Coral. CREDIT: WINK News

If you drive along Kismet Parkway in Cape Coral, you’ll see a lot of gas stations, mailboxes and potholes.

Meilin Spillane has experienced damage from these potholes firsthand while driving in the dark.

“It had just got done raining, so the potholes were filled with water,” she said. “I hit it with a tire that’s on my front passenger side. Immediately, my tire made a weird noise and went flat.”

She towed the car to Firestone the next day.

The mechanic told her the impact of the pothole flattened the tire. She had to spend $185 for a brand-new tire.

One of the potholes along Kismet Parkway in Cape Coral. CREDIT: WINK News.

Spillane contacted the City of Cape Coral, so the pothole could be fixed.

“I feel like they don’t see it as a priority,” she said. “It’s not an urgency to them.”

“It’s destroying people’s cars, and no one seems to care,” said Brett Stanton, owner of the Alignment Guy.

When someone drives over a pothole, Stanton says, their steering and suspension are affected the most.

“The suspension’s going up and down,” he said. “That’s taking a beating. When it goes up, everything is moving from side to side. Everything in that front end is taking a shot. It’s not designed for that.”

Stanton fixes one to two cars a week because with damage as a result of a pothole.

“It’s something that’s preventable,” he said. “That’s what bothers me.”

The City of Cape Coral does have a pothole program, but Kismet Parkway is part of the new Utilities Extension Project.

Kismet Parkway is part of the North 1 East Utilities Extension Project service area. CREDIT: City of Cape Coral

Because of the project, the city isn’t responsible for fixing potholes in this area.

The contractor, Mitchell & Stark Construction, has to fix them.

“I hope that they, you know, listen to us and fix it more urgently,” Spillane said.

WINK News reached out to Mitchell & Stark Construction about when the potholes might be fixed, but we have not yet heard back.

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