Bus Route

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Steve Myers or Jeff Shuler, Lee County Transit (Lee Tran)
(941) 277-5012

PUBLIC INPUT MEETINGS ON BUS ROUTE CHANGES TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 21, 2001) – Lee County Transit will hold eight public meetings next week to give information about and discuss proposed changes to Lee Tran bus routes. The meetings are open to Lee Tran users and the general public.

The recommended changes are part of the county’s five-year Transit Development Plan (TDP), recently completed by the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR).

The meeting dates, times and locations are:

	June 25 (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.)	- First Floor Meeting Room, Lee County Administration Building, 2115 Second Street in downtown Fort Myers.
	June 26 (1 p.m. and 7 p.m.)	- Meeting Room, East County Regional Library, 881 Gunnery Rd. in Lehigh Acres.
	June 27 (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.)	- Bonita Springs Community Center, Reynolds St. and Old U.S. 41.
	June 28 (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.)	- Council Chambers, (Old) Cape Coral City Hall, 815 Nicholas Parkway.

An update of the TDP is required every five years for Lee Tran to remain eligible for state and federal transit funding. The TDP outlines how the county can best maximize ridership of the Transit System using existing resources. Once the meetings are held and input taken, a final recommendation will be taken to the Board of Lee County Commissioners through the annual budget process.

The main recommendations in the TDP to optimize the effectiveness of the system include eliminating three low performing (low ridership) routes – Pine Island, Bonita Springs and an internal route in Lehigh Acres – and reallocating those resources to provide a higher level of service on Palm Beach Boulevard and U.S. 41, which are the system’s highest performing and highest demand areas. The improvements would eliminate the need for some transfers and also would reduce the time between pick-ups on U.S. 41 from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. What this does is maximize resources, based on performance, to the urban area.

Lee Tran’s goal is to provide the most efficient transit system within its means that serves the best interests of the entire Lee County community. Please plan on helping the bus system meet this goal by attending the meetings and providing your ideas.

A detailed summary of changes by route as follows:

	Route 10 Route 10 will utilize Fowler and Palmetto as primary north-south corridors and Edison Ave as the primary east-west corridor to connect residents of the northeast Ft Myers area to Edison Mall and the Health and Rehabilitative Services complex. It will also connect residents to the improved Route 100 and Routes 15 and 20. It will no longer service the new Intermodal Center.
	Route 15 The New Route 15 will utilize Nuna and Ortiz as primary north-south corridors and Michigan Ave as the primary east-west corridor to connect residents of the northeast Ft Myers area to the Downtown Intermodal Center. It will also connect residents to the improved Route 100 and Routes 10 and 20.
	Route 20 Route 20 will utilize Marsh and Broadway as primary north-south corridors and MLK, Jr.Blvd. as the primary east-west corridor to connect residents of the northeast Ft Myers area to the Downtown Intermodal Center and Edison Mall. It will also serve the Downtown Ft. Myers business district as well as connect residents to the improved Route 100 and Routes 10 and 15.
	Route 30 No route changes are proposed for this route.
	Route 40 Route 40 will continue to serve Santa Barbara Blvd. and Del Prado but will now utilize Cultural Pkwy and 11th St. to serve the new Cape Coral City Hall. Service on Pine Island Rd from Santa Barbara to Del Prado will be eliminated.
	Route 50 Route 50 will be combined with the Route 85. It will connect Summerlin Square to SW FL International Airport via Bell Tower. The route will not change from Summerlin Square to Bell Tower, but will continue on to the airport after servicing Bell Tower.
	Route 60 The Route 60 will continue to connect San Carlos Plaza with FGCU. However, the segment south of FGCU serving Miromar Outlets and South County Regional Library will be eliminated.
	Route 70 No route changes are proposed for this route.
	Route 80 Route 80 will connect Edison Mall and Bell Tower utilizing Metro as the major north-south corridor and Crystal, Palm and Oak as major east-west Corridors. This route will serve the Page Park and Pine Manor neighborhoods. Service on Six Mile Cypress, on Metro Pkwy south of Daniels Pkwy and on Danley south of Beacon Manor will be eliminated. Hammond Stadium will be served on request only.
	Route 85 This route will be eliminated. However, the Route 50 will serve much of the area that Route 85 served. Six Mile Cypress Pkwy, Metro Pkwy south of Daniels Pkwy, Lakes Park and the Gateway area will no longer be served.
	Route 90 There are no changes recommended for this route other than eliminating the trips to the industrial park on Mercantile Rd.
	Route 100 Route 100 will continue its current routing except to eliminate the deviations along Nuna and Marsh (will now be served by the new Route 15). The route will also continue through the Downtown Intermodal Center along US 41 to serve Edison Mall and Bell Tower. This route will also have frequency improvements.
	Route 110 Route 110 will be combined with the route 115 to provide continuous service all day between Edison Mall and Joel Blvd. Frequency will be reduced.
	Route 115 Route 115 eliminated, but the area currently being served by the 115 will now be served by the route 110.
	Route 120 Route 120 will connect Edison Mall to Kash &Karry via the Midpoint Bridge, as it does now. However, service to Cape Coral Hospital and the segment along Country Club Blvd will be eliminated in favor of offering increased frequency along Del Prado south of Veterans Pkwy. Service south of Miromar to the Yacht Club will be discontinued.
	Route 130 This route will connect Edison Mall to Summerlin Square via Edison Community College in the Southwest urban area. This route will utilize partial routing from the current Route 130 and Route 85 west of US 41. The segment along McGregor Blvd and Winkler Rd. will be eliminated due to very low ridership.
	Route 140 No route changes are proposed for this route.
	Route 150 This route is recommended for elimination due to the high cost per passenger carried.
	Route 160 This route is recommended for elimination due to the high cost per passenger carried.
	Trolley Service There are no route changes recommended for the trolley service along Ft. Myers Beach and Bonita Springs during peak season. In the off season, the trolley will continue north to Summerlin Square.