Cape Coral may see more sidewalks near schools

CAPE CORAL, Florida. The City of Cape Coral could get more sidewalks in hopes of protecting children traveling to and from school. Many of the areas where they sit are covered with either grass or gravel.

In an agenda item agreed with the city council, council members could accept money from the Florida Department of Transportation to work in two areas. One of them is SW 29th Avenue between Ceitus Parkway and SW 3rd Lane. The other is SW Tenth Street between Chiquita and Skyline Boulevards.

“It’s just ridiculous when there are no sidewalks,” said Kevin Theissen, father of five from Cape Coral. “There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be sidewalks going up and down Chiquita.”

This spectacle is also noticed by residents of other cities.

“In Lake Dalton, off-road sidewalks are laid for pedestrians only, so no one gets hurt,” said Terrence Johnson, who came from Wisconsin. Do you think the same will be done here?

The money to pay for the projects will come from FDOT grants, amounting to just over $500,000.

“Now we are very close to finishing sidewalks within one mile of schools,” said Tom Hayden, a Cape Coral council member.

Building additional sidewalks has been a priority for him since he took office, although one incident was a watershed. In 2019, Leila Aikens was killed. She was waiting for the bus before the driver blew up the stop sign, killing her.

“It really motivated me to try to move these projects forward,” Hayden said.

Prior to that, according to Hayden, the traffic study was conducted between 2016 and 2018. It turned out that only 8% of the 1200 miles of city lanes have sidewalks. Since then, according to Hayden, this figure has grown to only 12-13%, which, in his opinion, is not fast enough.

Hayden says he sees kids all the time sitting on the side of the road or on the grass waiting for the bus.

Parents say they want not only sidewalks, but also curbs.

“If there is no curb, someone can just drive up and haul them out,” Theissen said. “But if you hit a curb, you will remember that feeling for sure.”

If the city council accepts the grant on Wednesday, the project will be implemented between 2026 and 2027. Hayden wants to promote sidewalks within two miles of schools, and then he wants to shift his focus to main roads without sidewalks.

“What is the price of the life of one child,” Johnson said.