GPICA discusses traffic, Doppler radar, water quality
The Greater Pine Island Civic Association invited Lee County District 1 Commissioner Chairman Kevin Ruane to speak about some of the island’s key issues at its December Zoom meeting.
Ruane, who was recently elected to the chair of the board, said he welcomes any opportunity to address issues with constituents.
As the former mayor of Sanibel, Ruane is familiar with island issues, such as traffic, which he addressed at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We had a lot of similarities in Sanibel dealing with traffic,” said Ruane. “Sanibel went from a population of 7,000 to as many as 40,000 during season.”
He said in reality there are three ways to handle road congestion in an island environment. One, he said, is technology; the second, behavior modification; and the third, hardscape, which he says is the longest and most difficult of the three.
“Sanibel, through the FBO, was rated the top one intersection out of 18 to have a roundabout,” Ruane said. The problem, he explained, was that the study had been done on the roundabout itself, and failed to include the rest of the road around it, which needs to be widened considerably when entering or exiting a roundabout. Completing the project, he said, would have meant major construction issues as well as involvement from the county on widening the bridge and reconstructing the toll plaza. Had the project been completed, he says it would have ended up costing more than $20 million.
Ruane said looking at the number of people who were opposed to having a roundabout on Sanibel, which was roughly equal to the number of those who did want it, encouraged the city to survey what it could control. Technology, he said, was the most logical solution in dealing with the heavy congestion. With the utilization of today’s up-to-the minute mapping technology, coupled with strategically placed cameras, Ruane said Sanibel residents can now keep an eye on local traffic from a distance with an app they’ve designed through Apple called, Sanibel Bound. Going a step further, Ruane said the city worked with the county to create signs prior to approaching the Sanibel Causeway regarding traffic as well as beach conditions and public parking.
Ruane said between communication and technology utilization, they now have the ability to control the sign messaging on the causeway with an Ipad. Technology, he said, went a long way in providing some relief of the heavy congestion.
Unlike Pine Island, Sanibel has a toll bridge, allowing officials to monitor the time of day in which traffic is peaking in either direction. In Ruane’s opinion, it may be a viable solution for Pine Island to design a similar app using Sanibel Bound as an example. He encouraged GPICA members to discuss options within the community and address him when they’d reached a conclusion for further discussion.
Another item topping the list on the agenda was the water quality at Tropical Point Park. A long-time battle for GPICA Board President Scott Wilkinson has been the county’s role in having the water tested regularly, since the park is used for paddle-craft and occasionally for school field trips, wherein children have been observed wading in the water.
“The county has been pretty unresponsive to our request that they do regular testing out there,” Wilkinson said, “The enterococci, which is an indicator bacteria for fecal pollution, has been registered anywhere from 10 to 1,660 by certified lab results.”
Wilkinson went on to explain that anything over 70 is considered unsafe for bathing by the county’s standards.
Ruane said funding for Florida’s Healthy Beaches Program has been pulled back dramatically in the past two years.
“We relied 100 percent on funding from the state on the Healthy Beach Program — it was cut in half and then cut in half again.”
He said he would do whatever he can to help with water quality initiatives, as he is very familiar with beach closings due to water quality. He also stated that he believes parks should be given the same restrictions with regard to water quality testing as beaches and that it all comes down to funding.
Ruane said he has no issue with expanding the Healthy Beaches Program to include parks, which would then require regular water testing. He told members they are a part of his district and he would seek help from Tallahassee on the issue.
“I’m here to try to represent you, to try to do whatever I can to help,” said Ruane. “I ran on certain issues. You all know my issues with water quality so I certainly want to be there to help any way I possibly can. Let me be your advocate. Let me be your spokesperson.”
Another topic of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting was the variance request to build a 110-foot Doppler radar tower on 4798 Stringfellow Road in St. James City. According to Wilkinson, the height of the tower would violate the Pine Island Land Use Plan, which limits the tower to 45 feet. Bokeelia resident Jeff Waller was asked to give a presentation on various issues that may be presented if the tower project is allowed to move forward. Waller’s update on the Doppler radar tower can be found on the GPICA website gpica.org for further reference.
The 178-acre commercial land parcel, owned by WINK, is located just south of the Pine Island KOA campground. The dome, which is to be built on top, Waller said, boasts 1 million watts of power, intended to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
“It has 360 degrees of coverage with a range of 125 miles. The power is equivalent to roughly 5 to 25 times a full capacity cell tower,” Waller said.
WINK had an informational meeting wherein the community was invited to attend in July 2020 at the Fishers of Men Lutheran Church. According to Waller, only some of the islanders’ issues were addressed, leaving questions regarding health concerns, proliferation of local wildlife and land use restrictions largely unaddressed.
According to GPICA member Noel Andress, the property in question is located on a future land use map, designated coastal/rural and he said putting in a radar tower is not permitted use of the land. The only way they can follow through on this project, he said, would be to ask the county’s permission to amend the future land use plan.
Andress encourages the community to bring up this fact at any future meeting regarding the Doppler radar tower.
“They can’t get a variance if they can’t meet the requirements of the comprehensive plan … which they can’t,” said Andress.
The matter is currently pending the scheduling of a hearing examiner.