Cape Coral plans to spend $3.5 million on sidewalks

Cape Coral is constantly growing: more people, more houses and busy roads, but not enough sidewalks.

 “I see a lot of children that are still standing around or sitting on the ground waiting for sidewalks,” said Judi Dugre, a south Cape Coral resident.

If the newly proposed $984.1 million budget for 2025 goes through, that might not be the case much longer.

• RELATED: Proposed Cape Coral city budget for 2025 sees a 10% decrease

A $3.5 million portion of that—the largest amount ever proposed in a single budget year— will be used to expand city sidewalks. 

“There are parts of Cape Coral where that will be a real plus for them,” said Dugre.

Another $11.5 million has been set aside for paving roadways.

The city hasn’t revealed the specifics yet, but the budget does mention sidewalks on Miramar Street, and it allocates funds for sidewalk expansion in school areas.

“I’m a former teacher, so it’s very important to me that the children have sidewalks so that they’re protected because we do have kind of a large number of car accidents,” said Dugre.

Residents WINK spoke to off-camera agreed with Dugre. They also think help is needed most further north.

Whether it’s neighborhoods or portions of main roads like Pine Island, everyone agrees the $3.5 million will be money well spent.

WINK reached out to the City of Cape Coral to find out what upcoming sidewalk projects are planned. The city has share those specific locations.

Click here to view the entire proposed city budget for fiscal year 2025.