Call to Action! Step up to save Sustainability Plan that supports safer streets in Lee

The completeLEE: Sustainability Plan is a plan that was proposed to actually measure whether Lee County’s priority policies that have a significant effect on the quality of life in our community are working or not.  The idea is that the county would set measures and assess progress, or a lack there of, on a regular basis so they can adjust the course accordingly.  

Recognizing how challenging it is for bicyclists and pedestrians in Lee County, the sustainability plan identifies Transportation Choices and several supportive policies that have a significant affect on transportation as priorities over the next several years.  

If you would like to show your support for this plan in an effort to stop the policy-makers for eliminating it altogether, TAKE ACTION!  All you have to do it tell the BoCC you want them to “adopt the plan and begin to implement it right away”.  

1) Attend the meeting of the Community Sustainability Advisory Committee.  This meeting is not like a BoCC meeting.  It’s in a regular room.  It’s informal and a supportive group of citizens that worked for three years to develop this plan.  Come to say that you want the BoCC to adopt the plan and begin to implement it for the community.  You can express your opinion about how the plan is important to the future of our community, particularly around transportation or otherwise, if you like too. Here's a link to more information about the meeting.

2) Email the commissioners (all five in one email is fine) in advance of the meeting telling them you want the county to adopt and implement the plan rather than ignore it or trash it altogether.  

dist1@leegov.com

Dist2@leegov.com

dist3@leegov.com

dist4@leegov.com

dist5@leegov.com

Click here for the Lee Public Voice June 20th letter to BoCC on the Sustainability Plan. 

Click here for one-page summary of the Sustainability Plan 

Sanibel City Council OKs connectivity ordinance

 Kudos to the City Council for approving an ordinance on June 17th which establishes inter-connectivity and intra-connectivity interpretive guidelines for the city's shared use path system.  Thanks to City Manager Judie Zimomra for leading the effort to develop the guidelines, and to the Sanibel Bicycle Club for their participation in this year-long effort. These guidelines can serve as a model for other Lee County communities.

 Over the past year, Sanibel City government has been working on an ordinance, which amends the existing Land Development Code (LDC) to improve connectivity between the path system and businesses throughout the island.  Click below to see the ordinance, guidelines and related documents:

1. Ord 14-001, 2. PowerPoint Presentation, 3. Current Proposed guidelines dated March 11, 2014, 4. Interconnectivity PowerPoint Presentation 061714

New connection between path system and Billy's bike rental at Bailey Center

The guidelines lay out seven primary goals (see Island Sun 6/20/14 article for more details about the 6/17 Council discussion):

to remain consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the Sanibel Plan; to build upon the success of the shared use path system; to ensure pedestrian, bicyclist and motorist safety by providing unobstructed sight lines at points of ingress and egress;  to mitigate vehicular traffic volumes by continuing to promote walking and bicycling; to improve safety by eliminating conflict points between automobiles and pedestrians and bicyclists; to enhance pedestrian and bicyclist access to properties within the commercial district; to encourage opportunities for shared parking, thus reducing the need for large parking lots.

As a Sanibel resident, I'm proud to see Sanibel leading the way on improving connectivity and safety for cyclists and pedestrians.  There have been several pilot projects demonstrating this approach over the past year and residents and businesses both responded favorably.  We'll keep you posted on more examples as the policy is implemented on an island-wide basis.

Report by Darla Letourneau