County committee member offers updates on island bike paths, crosswalks
To the editor:
Re: Matlacha crosswalk and other bike path issues
Good day Pine Islanders and residents of Matlacha. There has been a lot of discussion recently on the issue of the crosswalks on Matlacha. I want to take this time to update everyone on what is being done and provide a bit of history as to my involvement with Lee County’s Bicycle Pedestrian Committee.
First, a little background. I live on PI year-round and I’m avid cyclist (competitive) and love nature, like most of us do. I was nominated and appointed by Commissioner (John) Manning to represent District 1 at Lee County’s Bicycle Pedestrian Committee. I’ve served in this capacity for five years as member, secretary and vice chair. I’m still serving.This is a volunteer position.
The goal of the committee is to make our county safe for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and all levels and to create safer roads, complete streets, bike paths and sidewalks, etc., including safer routes to school for children. We hold meetings on the third Wednesday of the month starting at 3 p.m. at the DOT building. It’s a big county and a lot of work has been done already, and still needs to be done. There have been several issues involving Pine Island/Matlacha in which I have been directly involved.
1) Last year, noticing the bad conditions of the crosswalks on Matlacha, I brought it up to the committee. I took pictures of the confusing crosswalks, poor signage and poor lighting (for nighttime pedestrians, crossing from and to restaurants and shops) and presented my case, made a motion to improve this and the motion was passed.
Update: DOT has examined the area, taken its own pictures, gotten feedback from residents and a contractor is being sought at this moment. Construction on the new crosswalks is set to start around April or May this year. Some crosswalks will be eliminated and replaced in more appropriate locations. There is also going to be a crosswalk by the ice cream store. There will be additional lighting as well to alert cars and to highlight pedestrians in order to increase safety.
2) As many of you year-round residents who cycle know, summertime is a bad time to cycle especially south of the Moose Lodge in St. James City. We have several bike/walk bridges that were useless given that either side of the bridges were under water most of the summer, making passage impossible or dangerous. Dead animals, stinking water and debris contaminated the paths. About two years ago I took pictures, made a note of the problem and made a motion to correct this issue. The motion passed. I later met with a DOT official on the path to point out the problems at each bridge. The county improved the bridges, cleaned out the ditches to improve water flow and made corrections as needed.
3) The other situation of which I’m personally excited came about over a year ago when DOT presented all the Bike Ped members with a map of the county, and asked us for our input for additional paths. I quickly jumped in and made a request to add a multi-use path to connect Pine Island with the path on Veterans. I met with the PI/Matlacha Chamber on a couple of occasions to get their input as well and received their vote of approval. The final map with the new bike path connecting PI with Veterans was approved and the funding was gotten with the help of many wonderful people in the County, DOT and supporters. It will be a while before it is actually built, but it will happen! And I can’t wait!
In addition, I have already mentioned the issue with poor parking and the dangers of cars parking on the right of way along Matlacha, so parking issues and possible solutions is something I want to continue to explore in the future.
4) The issue of lack of funding to complete Bike Ped projects is something else I addressed. Year after year projects were added and ranked on a long list but few were actually completed. Consequently, projects remained on the “to do” list for over 20 years, some longer. I was the first to point out to the committee that the root cause of the problem was lack of adequate funding. We agreed and decided to have the chair compose a letter (with everyone’s input) to submit to the commissioners. This month the letter was finalized and approved. We are asking for $2 million to be gotten from current sources (gas tax and impact fees) plus new alternative sources of funding, and to be set aside strictly for BPAC projects. Please write and contact Lee County Commissioners to support this much needed change and improvement.
There is much more I’d like to share and will do so in time. However, many issues involving the roads, streets or paths, etc., can be resolved through the Lee County web site below or contacting DOT. There is a section on the website for citizens to provide feedback on needed repairs on roads, path, sidewalks, etc.
Please do your part to keep the bike path on the island free of trash, grass clippings (if you live along the path, use your lawn mower to blow away grass clippings on the path), broken glass (a constant problem along the Bokeelia section south of Pineland Road), and overhanging branches. Let’s remember that we each can do our part to maintain our path safe and fun for everyone.
If you would like more information you can access the minutes of the meetings and additional information through the county’s web site at: www.leegov.com/gov/dept/ dot /bpac/Pages/default.aspx
Ileana Sisson, MS Ph.D.,
St. James City