What’s
new in the County!
Naples
Pathways Coalition is pleased to report that Norm Feder, Transportation Service
Administrator, and Nick Casalanguida, Transportation Planning Director have
“committed the transportation division to providing the residents of Collier
County a first class network of sidewalks, bike lanes and multi-use paths”.
Collier County Transportation working with the FDOT and Land Developers
achieved a lot in the last year. This is a list of the pathways that have come
together.
Bike
Lanes
This
year several great new bike lanes opened!
We now have bike lanes on Vanderbilt Beach Road from US 41 to Collier
Boulevard (951). Vanderbilt Beach Road’s completion ties northern Collier
County together, intersecting bike lanes on US 41, Livingston Rd, Oaks
multi-use trail, Vineyards Blvd, the Logan Blvd Greenway and Collier Boulevard.
Collier
Boulevard has new bike lanes from Golden Gate Blvd to Immokalee Road. The best
part is the interconnection with Collier Blvd connecting Vanderbilt Beach Road
to Immokalee Road bike lanes and to Golden Gate Boulevard bike lanes.
In
July, the Collier Boulevard bike lanes, from US 41 to Davis Boulevard will be
back in action.
Vanderbilt
Drive south of Wiggins Pass Road has new multi-use pathway bridges and under
construction a wider bike friendly bridge over the Cocohatchee River.
Greenways
Two
new sections of the Collier Boulevard Greenway are built between US 41 to Davis
Boulevard and Vanderbilt Beach Road to Immokalee Road. West of 951, Immokalee
Road has a new greenway passing by the Heritage and Quarry developments.
Collier County Transportation is working at getting the greenways connected
too. The Immokalee Road Greenway
takes you from the Logan Boulevard Greenway to the Northbrook Drive Greenway
and the Oaks Boulevard multi-use path. Plans are on the board for connecting
the Collier Boulevard Greenway to the Immokalee Road east greenways but it may
be a long wait until the Immokalee Road Greenway makes the connection west of
Collier Boulevard.
Sidewalks
14,500
feet of new sidewalks have been retrofitted to existing roadway in Naples Manor
and Immokalee. Both areas have walking / biking communities that will benefit
with safe routes to school. Golden Gate Parkway has a new pedestrian bridge
crossing the 55th street canal. Vanderbilt Beach Road and Collier
Boulevard North have new sidewalks for the entire project lengths.
Under
construction Santa Barbara Boulevard will add bike lanes and sidewalks
connecting Golden Gate Parkway to Rattlesnake Hammock Road and the bike lanes
through Lely to US 41 East Trail.
Northeast
Trail Study was adopted by the MPO at the April MPO meeting. This is a massive
trail with 25 primary miles and 12 miles of alternate connectors. The trail
connects Immokalee to Naples, Ft Myers and possibly Bonita Springs
The
trail study’s primary greenway trail continues the Immokalee Road Greenway from
west of 951. The trail parallels
Immokalee Road to Oil Well Road,
then parallels Oil Well Road past Ave Maria to Camp Kieis Road continuing
north to Immokalee.
The
study includes many additional segments and alternates. Segments will follow SR
29 and SR 82 to Lehigh Acres. Alternates may run greenways parallel to
Immokalee Road connecting to Corkscrew Sanctuary and possibly following the future
Little League Road extension.
The
portion that passes by the Heritage and the Quarry Developments have already
been built. The Oil Well Road section is projected to get started this year and
continue to its completion as Oil Well Road is multi- laned. The overview of
the study is available http://www.colliergov.net/Index.aspx?page=2453
Planned
and funded projects
CMS-ITS
Priority List 2009- 2013 as adopted by the MPO
$1,652,645
budget
4th
on the list: 41 & Pelican Bay Blvd north; install pedestrian crossing at a
cost estimate of $100,000 with $900,000 of estimated jobs ahead on the list.
7th
on the list: bike lanes on SR 84, Davis Blvd., Santa Barbara Blvd. to Florida
Club Circle and side walks from County Barn Road to Santa Barbara Blvd. Cost estimate $800,000 with $1,751,000
ahead on the list so it may not happen until 2014.
PAC-
TAC Pathway Priority list 2009-20013 for adoption in June
Budget
$3,000,000
|
Over
the years builders and developers have contributed to a Payment in Lieu fund
when required sidewalks were not needed due to future construction or no
connectivity. This fund will pay for 17 projects totaling over $3.5 million.
Projects span across the county: Naples Park, Golden Gate, Immokalee, Manatee
Road, Orange Blossom, Shadowlawn and the FPL Greenway.