FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Andy Getch, Lee County Department of Transportation
              (941) 479-8510

NEW SIDEWALKS CONSTRUCTION APPROVED
IN UNINCORPORATED LEE COUNTY

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 25, 2003) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved a two-year project list of pedestrian sidewalks in Lee County totaling 8.4 miles of new sidewalks in various parts of the county.

The cost of the projects is about $2.4 million. They are:

Lehigh Acres

1. Arthur Avenue from Homestead Road to Alabama Road (0.2 miles).

2. Homestead Road from Milwaukee Avenue to Veterans Park (2 miles).

North Fort Myers

3. Laurel Drive from Garden Street to Business 41 (0.6 miles).

Pine Island

4. Stringfellow Road from Marina Drive to Pamegranate Drive (2.7 miles).

5. Stringfellow Road from Helen Road to Barrancas Road (0.8 miles).

Estero

6. Williams Road from Halfway Creek to Three Oaks Parkway (2.1 miles).

Lee County allocates a little more than $1 million a year for the construction of sidewalks and bikepaths based on recommendations by the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, which is made up of local residents.

For more information about how to request that a project be considered, contact Andy Getch at 479-8510.

Here is a more complete description of the above projects:

Arthur Avenue and Homestead Road Sidewalks (Lehigh)
Two prospective school sites are located along Homestead Road south of Lehigh. The recommendation is to extend the existing path from Veterans Park, a future school site, south to Milwaukee Boulevard. Arthur Avenue is the entrance to Lehigh Middle School. The request is to extend the existing sidewalk west from Homestead Road to Alabama Road. These projects will be built with available Road Impact Fee District 3 CIP 6002 subfunds.

Laurel Drive Sidewalk (North Fort Myers)
The proposed facility connects to Suncoast Elementary School, Middle School and North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts. The Suncoast Neighborhood Task Force first requested the Laurel Drive project in 1995. The Suncoast Neighborhood Task Force began acquiring easements in October 2001 from the neighborhood property owners along both sides of the road with assistance from staff. Because of the additional cost of ditch piping required to complete the project, Laurel Drive sidewalk was split into two phases. The previously approved segment was from Gage Way to Garden Street in the amount of $330,000 including design of Laurel Drive from Gage Way to Business 41. The funds would be used to build additional length of sidewalk along Laurel Drive if savings were realized by dedication of easements. The Laurel Drive sidewalk design is currently in progress. Approval of additional funding will allow completion of a sidewalk on one side of Laurel Drive and address the current hazardous walking conditions identified by the Lee County School Board.

Stringfellow Road Bicycle Path (Pine Island)
There is a lengthy history for the Stringfellow Road project beginning with a bicycle route in St. James City in 1987. An Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Application (ISTEA) for federal funds to construct an eight-foot bicycle path along 14.1 miles of Stringfellow Road was incorporated in the FDOT 1994 work plan. FDOT completed construction of the 4.7 mile section near St. James City in 1999. Due to insufficient right-of-way, the remaining 9.4 miles of the project did not meet ISTEA criteria. At the January 3, 1996 Board meeting, the county made the commitment to construct the remaining phases of the original ISTEA project contingent upon the donation of the necessary right-of-way or easements.

The Pine Island Bike Path Group had acquired the majority of easements from the neighborhood property owners along one side of the road on approximately 5.9 miles of Stringfellow Road. The remaining project segments under consideration are in Pineland and Bokeelia. The Pineland segment is approximately 2.7 miles long from just north of Marina Drive to Pomegranate Road. The Bokeelia segment is approximately 0.8 miles long from Helen Road to Barrancas Avenue. The property owners in these segments have not demonstrated a willingness to dedicate easements for the bicycle path. BPAC is now recommending construction of this remaining 3.5 miles of Stringfellow Road to complete the original ISTEA project. The total estimated expenditure by FDOT and Lee County for a bicycle path along Stringfellow Road is approximately $3.5 million compared to the original $2.2 million ISTEA allocation.

Williams Road (Estero)
This is the highest-ranking project in Road Impact Fee District 4 and is proposed to be built with those funds. The BPAC recommendation is for a sidewalk from U.S. 41 to River Ranch Road. The facility would require a separate agreement with Seminole Gulf Railway for the crossing of the railroad. There is an existing sidewalk on River Ranch Road to Estero High School. Extensions east to Three Oaks Parkway and west of U.S. 41 are also recommended depending on available funds in the Road Impact Fee District 4 subfund of CIP 6002.