Cape Coral focusing on evacuation routes for hurricanes

Reporter: Taylor Wirtz Writer: Tim Belizaire
Published: Updated:

The city of Cape Coral is focusing on evacuation routes to ensure the smoothest and safest departure for residents during severe weather events.

A study found that some of the main areas of concern are all of the bridges in Cape Coral, Veterans Parkway, and the areas on and around I-75 and US 41.

The City of Cape Coral has a plan it hopes will reduce the issues seen in these areas during severe weather events.

Kyle Faldoski works in Cape Coral and he said evacuating the area during a hurricane is not pretty.

“Oh, it’s chaos. It’s just people going down the wrong lanes of traffic. It’s really bad,” said Faldoski.

Evrett Scheall is a Cape Coral resident and has had similar experiences.

“Everyone’s backed up, just fighting each other because everyone wants to get out,” said Scheall.

Many believe Cape Coral’s population is growing beyond what its roads can handle.

“They had it planned out and maybe it might be time to go ahead and start upgrading the infrastructure a little bit,” said Faldoski.

The City Council agrees with the assessment. They’re drafting a resolution to request the Florida Department of Transportation and the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization prioritize an additional evacuation route for the city.

Bill Steinke is a member of the Cape Coral City Council. He is in favor of the resolution.

“It’s kind of like blood flow,” said Steinke. “We need a whole new artery, not just clearing out one of them.”

The group, CDM Smith looked into what transportation improvements could be made to reduce overall evacuation times during a severe weather event and found that certain improvements could reduce overall evacuation times by 18 hours or almost 30%.

These improvements include an I-75/Del Prado interchange, a widening of the Midpoint Memorial Bridge and an extension of Country Road 951.

Cape Coral residents said if the right roads are targeted, this could be a big help the time another hurricane rolls in.

“It could be beneficial. It just really depends on what spots and what areas they would put it in,” said Scheall.

The city of Cape Coral is in the process of drafting a resolution for the evacuation route. The city hopes to have it ready to present at the next council meeting.

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