Mariner High School sidewalks project to start Monday

 Kudos to the Lee County School District and the City of Cape Coral for working cooperatively to address some of the sidewalk gaps between the Mariner High School, the North Cape library, and the Mariner Middle School.  This is just one segment (the high school) of the gaps in the area, but it's great to see the beginning of the process to fill these gaps to make it safer for students and other residents to walk between these three important public facilities.

News Press story:  The City will begin installing new sidewalks at Mariner High School beginning Monday, March 5. The City’s sidewalk crew will be moving equipment, cones and barricades to the site in the afternoon, and excavation will start Tuesday morning. The right lanes on northbound Chiquita Boulevard and eastbound Tropicana Parkway will be closed at different times during the construction. The project will take four to six weeks.

Students and teachers at Mariner High School need to drive with caution when traveling through the work zone especially during drop-off and pick-up times. As a reminder, traffic fines are doubled if a driver is ticketed within a work zone.

This sidewalk project is being completed through an agreement between the City of Cape Coral and Lee County School District. The City’s sidewalk crew is doing the work, and the cost of the project (est. $100,000) is being paid by the School District.

We've just won a big battle for biking and walking in the federal transportation bill!

 

Just in from Streetsblog....Good News: Cardin-Cochran Amendment Incorporated Into Senate Bill

Majority Leader Harry Reid has incorporated much of the Ben Cardin/Thad Cochran amendment into the so-called “manager’s mark” of the Senate transportation bill. The move means that the amendment’s provisions letting local governments directly access funding from popular bicycle and pedestrian programs will be included in the bill without having to come up for a separate vote.

Without the Cardin-Cochran amendment, cities and towns looking to invest in safer streets for walking and biking would have been left at the mercy of their state DOTs, which could have prevented any bike/ped funding from being spent. The adopted provisions would put funding directly in the hands of local agencies, making it harder for state highway departments to funnel resources away from walking, biking, and complete streets.

The full Senate bill, including the Cardin/Cochran provisions, could face a cloture vote as early as Tuesday.

Thank you to our Washington partners, Alliance for Biking and Walking, America Bikes, and Transportation for America for their intense work on this over the past month, to the advocates around the country and in Lee County that have pressed for this amendment, and a special thank you to our County Commissioners and the Lee MPO Board for writing letters to Senators Nelson and Rubio in support of this amendment.  Our voices really do matter!

Call Senator Nelson (202-224-5274) and Senator Rubio (202-224-3041) to thank them for including the Cardin-Cochran amendment in the Senate transportation bill.

We are one step closer to a federal transportation law that makes streets safer for all users. 

While this is a big victory and a significant step forward, we still have a ways to go before it can become law. 

Your help will be critical in coming weeks to ensure passage of the Senate bill, to restore bicycle and pedestrian funding in the House, and to make sure any extension of current transportation law retains Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements and Recreational Trails.   Stay tuned to the BikeWalkLee blog for action alerts and updates!

Starting next week, City of Fort Myers speed limit is 25 mph on local streets

Kudos to the Fort Myers City Council for making the local streets safer for all users! 25 Miles Per Hour Speed Limit on all Local Streets (Fort Myers, FL: March 2, 2012) - On December 5, 2011, City Council approved ordinance No. 3609 regarding reducing City-wide speed limits on all local streets from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour unless otherwise posted. Effective March 12, 2012, the City will be enforcing the 25 miles per hour speed limit on all local streets. City ordinance No. 3609 established an enforcement date for the speed limit change to be March 1, 2012.  Speed limit signs will be installed on all collector and arterial roads where the ordinance does not apply.  “Speed Limit 25 on All Local Roads Unless Otherwise Posted” signs will be installed below all City limit signs at each City entry. For questions concerning speed limit changes, please contact the City of Fort Myers Public Works/Engineering Department at (239) 321-7445.