New plan to prevent flooding in Fort Myers community with kayaking trail

Those in Dean Park will never forget Hurricane Ian’s destruction, and now the City of Fort Myers is trying to prevent it from happening again with an original idea that should please both kayakers and residents.

“I had about three feet of water inside. Took 11 months to put it all back together. You know, some of the residents here are still kind of putting things back together,” said Justin Donato, a resident in Dean Park.

To prevent flooding like this from happening, the city of Fort Myers is partnering with the National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create a Blue Way kayak recreation preserve at Billy Creek, which will act as a water trail throughout the city.

“It gives you a little sense of relief if we’re talking about flooding coming through like we had during the end, being able to elevate the housing as well as provide the drainage so that the flooding doesn’t happen,” said Elgin Hicks, Director of Parks and Recreation.

Donato said he’s a fan of the plan.

“I think it’s great, you know, anything that will help with flooding in the neighborhood ever since, you know … and we all flooded here so was pretty devastating for the community,” said Donato, “so anything that improves that and that’s recreation to the community, I think it’s awesome.”

The Blue Way will start at Shady Oaks and go through Village Creek and then down the Caloosahatchee.

So how big is this task?

“It’s really connected now,” said Hicks. “It’s just kind of activating and clearing some waterways and just making it more attractive along the way, so adding some different recreational stops along the way. It’s kind of what we’re trying to do.”

This project is still in the beginning stages, and the design is ongoing.

The city said they will have opportunities for public input throughout the planning process.