COMMISSION OKs ROAD LANDSCAPING FUNDS/JUSTICE CENTER PROJECTS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 29, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting. They are:

Roadway Landscaping – Approved the Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee’s recommendations for spending of an additional $2 million on the LeeScape Program. They are: $600,000 to increase the level of landscaping along two existing projects (Corkscrew Road and Three Oaks Parkway); $1.2 million to intensify landscaping along other projects to be determined (possibilities include I-75/Bayshore, Business 41 in North Fort Myers or Livingston Road in Bonita Springs); $200,000 to help in the design of current and future designated projects to help attract grant funding (possibilities include Three Oaks and Veterans parkways, Livingston Road, U.S. 41, Koreshan Boulevard). The county typically spends $500,000 a year on roadway landscaping projects. This one-time cash infusion accelerates the program by four years. For more information, call Paul Wingard at 694-3334 or 479-8545.

Queue Jumps – Approved proceeding with an application to the Federal Highway Administration for up to $15 million to pay for the design and construction of a queue jump at a to-be-identified congested intersection in Lee County. Q-Jumps are new road facilities – such as elevated ramps or at-grade lanes – that can be used by motorists stopped in traffic to bypass congestion at intersections. Users would pay a toll for the convenience and timesavings gained from using the Q-Jump. The county currently is studying the Q-jump idea and it appears likely that the ongoing study will identify at least one queue jump site as viable. For more information, call Amy Davies at 479-8589.

Courts Expansion – Approved construction management contracts for expansion projects at the Lee County Justice Center. The projects are: adding two passenger elevators and a freight elevator near the rear entrance of the Justice Center (off Heitman Street) and renovating about 20,000 square feet in pod B to accommodate more Clerk of Courts employees ($928,000). For more information, contact Jim Lavender at 479-8301.

Liaison Committee – Appointed a 12-member Pine Island/Outer Island liaison committee to investigate and evaluation potential solutions to solid waste transfer and public access issues on Pine Island and the Outer Islands. The committee members are: Sally Tapager, Bill Spikowski, Bill Stanley, Barbara Dubin, Leo Amos Jr., Phil Buchanan, Zeke McDonald, Eva Scala, Ron Lueth, Vincent Formosa, David Barton and Dick Lewis.

For more information, contact the District #1 Commission Office at 335-2224.