Cyclists Celebrate Hickory Boulevard Shoulder Completion

30 cyclists participated in the “Bike Ride to Celebrate the Completion of the Hickory Blvd Shoulders” on Sunday morning, August 28^th.  Most of the riders, including a contingent of riders from the Bonita Bay Bicycle Club, rode north from the starting point at Lover’s Key State Park to the first turnaround at Bowditch Point.  They then continued south two miles on Little Hickory Island where the road resurfacing and addition of shoulders has been recently completed by LeeDOT.  A final turnaround at Bonita Beach took the riders back to the starting point for a total of 27 miles.

The ride was the vision of the BikeWalkLee steering committee to invite the general public as well as our civic leaders, the public, LeeDOT staff, engineers and planners, anyone else responsible to participate in a bike ride to experience the difference that a project like this makes.  The road on Little Hickory Island had been a two-lane road, forcing bike riders to ride in the traffic lanes – now with the addition of the shoulders this is a much safer place to ride a bike.  Traffic also flows with little restriction.  The end result is a win-win for both modes of travel.

The Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club assisted with the route details and ride leadership.  Their regular ride scheduled in Cape Coral was re-directed to this location for the day.  Several of the participants had not ridden on the beaches for quite some time and found the Hickory Blvd. shoulders and resurfacing in the Ft. Myers Beach areas to be a welcome addition, improving the ride experience and safety substantially.  The recently completed north end of Estero Blvd from the Times Square area to Bowditch Point was also enjoyed by the cyclists. That renovation includes sidewalks, continuous drains, marked bicycle lanes, paver crosswalks and a resurfaced roadway.

Kudos to LeeDOT who did a great job planning and executing the Hickory Shoulders Project.  BikeWalkLee, the Caloosa Riders, and the Bonita Bay Bicycle Club in particular are most appreciative of their efforts and of the support of the County Commissioners and the Bonita Springs City Council that made this project possible.

---Written by BWL contributor Steve Rodgers

Hickory Boulevard Shoulders Celebratory Ride -- Sunday, August 28

Join BWL and the Caloosa Riders in celebrating the completion of the Hickory Blvd. shoulder project. The 25-mile ride begins at 8am on Sunday, August 28th at the boat ramp on the east side of Estero Blvd. across from Lover's Key State Park.

Click here to view the full News-Press article. Excerpt below.

Bicyclists will celebrate the completion of the Hickory Boulevard shoulders with a Sunday ride through Bonita Beach.

Officials at BikeWalkLee said they were pleased with the project and thanked the Board of County Commissioners and the city of Bonita Springs for making the road safer for pedestrians.

To celebrate the completion, BikeWalkLee is inviting cyclists to join the Caloosa Riders on a 25-mile bike ride beginning at 8 a.m., Sunday.

The ride includes the entire length of Estero and Hickory boulevards using Bowditch Point and Bonita Beach as turnaround points.

Approximately four miles of the route will be on the new shoulders that were added on Little Hickory Island.

The bike ride will begin at the boat ramp area across from the entrance to Lovers Key State Park.

Riders should expect a 10 to 15 mph pace and riders of all skill levels are welcome.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own food and water because the ride is not an event or race.

If you have any questions, call Steve Rodgers at 839-7926.

Cape Coral Bus Stop Safety

The second informational meeting on re-location of school bus stops was held last Saturday, August 20, at Northwest Regional Library in Cape Coral. Parents with specific concerns met individually with Lee School District Transportation Director Robert Morgan. The meeting was moderated by Councilman Kevin McGrail who's involvement began some months ago in response to safety issues raised by parents who emailed him. School District Superintendent Joseph Burke attended the meeting and emphasized that safety of students is the number one goal and efforts will continue to make sure that bus stops can be safely accessed by students.

McGrail and School District staff and others are working with the Lee County Electric Cooperative to find ways to add streetlights to the approximately 400 of 800 bus stops in Cape Coral that currently are not adequately lighted. The District's goal is to create a system of semi-permanent bus stops in safe locations where students will board their bus. The practice of buses traveling deep into neighborhood streets to provide "at-the-door" service began when there were many fewer students, but it was never required by District policy. Last year there were over 1900 school bus stops in Cape Coral. This increased the time students spent on the bus and added substantial costs to operate the system. At the start of this school year McGrail said the number of bus stops is about 875.

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Steve Chupack

Cape Coral Representative

BWL