Tice residents urge FDOT to improve traffic safety

Residents of the unincorporated community of Tice are urging the Florida Department of Transportation to improve traffic safety through written suggestions submitted at the Tice Transportation Talk.

The Transportation Talks endeavor is a community outreach process that aims to identify which issues are of utmost concern to civilians. In Tice, residents are calling for the expansion of sidewalks, bike lanes and bus stops.

For long-time community members like James Brown, who gets around by riding his bicycle, the lack of sidewalk access in Tice is a major safety concern, especially in areas of high traffic.

“It’s terrible… they [are] speeding all the time, trying to get from one red light to the next one,” said Brown. “If that light [is] green down there, they’ll come through here flying, trying to catch that light there. They don’t want to be held up.”

Tice resident Wendell Smith has had a similar experience, having been hit by a car several times while navigating the area on his mobile scooter.

“God, I done got hit twice on Palm Beach,” said Smith. “Sidewalks and speed bumps, they need to fix the road.”

Ron Huffman, whose home is located on a residential road littered with potholes and orange safety cones, said that he’s frustrated with the lack of action regarding traffic safety in the area.

“15 repaired water leaks in the last 10 years, and they haven’t done anything to try to fix that reoccurring problem,” Huffman said. “We got streets out here in East Fort Myers that really need some repair.”