Neighbors start petition to save eagles from speeding cars

There’s no doubt about it, Southwest Florida loves their eagles. Some Cape Coral residents are looking for a way to keep them safe.

“They’re so, so special and dear to so many of us,” said Cape Coral resident Debi Myers.

Do you know what else Southwest Florida seems to love? Speeding.

“I was griping about the drivers up north and somebody said ‘Wait til you to get to Florida.’ They weren’t kidding. They were not kidding.” Said Myers.

While we may know what to look out for, eagles don’t stand a chance.

“We’ve seen times where M-15 has gone down to get roadkill and was flying low coming up.” said Myers, “It almost looked like he was going to hit the windshield of that car that was flying by.”

Debi Myers’ name is just one of over 6,000 on a petition to stop close calls like the one M-15 had by slowing down the speed limit on Bayshore Road between 1-75 and New Post Road.

“At the very least, put some signs warning people of low-flying eagles,” said Myers.

This perch on Pritchett property has seen its fair share of eagles in the last two decades, and neighbors want it to stay that way.

“If they see something in the road, then they’ll think, you know, maybe it is an eagle, you know,” said Myers. “I think people care enough that they don’t want to hit them. These are our national birds.”

WINK News Reporter Amy Galo reached out to the Florida Department of Transportation to ask what it would take to implement these changes.

In a statement to WINK News, a spokesperson from the Florida Department of Transportation said the latest speed study was done in 2019, and neighbors who would like to see a speed reduction would need to submit a request to FDOT. Once the request is received, FDOT will review it and reply back.