Road safety has become an increasing concern for many residents in greater Estero. Engage Estero was pleased to host Ron Gogoi, Transportation Planning Administrator at Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Frank Domingo,Professional Engineer and Principal, Stantec Consulting, speaking to the development of a plan to reduce crashes, serious injuries, and fatalities on Lee County roads.
Road safety issues are on many residents’ minds in greater Estero and are of considerable interest. Despite the topic’s importance, attending the Community and Member Meeting arranged by Engage Estero was disappointing. However, early voting concerns and cleanup after Hurricane Milton will have affected attendance.
A YouTube-edited video recording of the important information conveyed at the meeting can be seen by clicking on the link – https://youtu.be/ebpEeMb5E-g
Allan Bowditch, Engage Estero’s Chief Communications Officer, welcomed those in attendance and introduced the two eminent speakers:
Frank Domingo explained the various steps of the Safety Action Plan that involved
Frank pointed out that the work of Stantec and the MPO focuses on the wide range of available information and considers specific traffic studies conducted by various municipalities, which are incorporated into the following analysis and recommendations. He mentioned that although the Village of Estero’s traffic study wasn’t finalized, he had seen some provisional information and would review the findings when completed. Stantec is in close touch with the Village’s management team, particularly Steve Sarkozy, Manager, and David Willems, Public Works Director. The work of Stantec and the MPO was currently at the third step in the process – selecting proven strategies.
Lee County’s statistics on accidents are in the top 5 or 6 of the worst counties in the USA! There are around 100 deaths per year on Lee County roads and 600 serious accidents. The work that Frank Domingo pointed out identifies and focuses on those “corridors” with the highest level of accidents. Evaluating the cost implications of accidents is important to determine where best to spend funds to rectify the causes.
The Department of Transport determined in calculations that in addressing these problems, a life lost is $11M in these assessments. Although it is appreciated that this process may seem harsh, it is necessary to determine where extra funds may be needed. Safety assessment in greater Estero has been focused on US41, Estero Parkway, and Three Oaks Parkway. Frank asked the audience for their input on where else their work might be focused based on their local knowledge. The comments made were:
The design of pedestrian crossings and bike lanes seems to be an afterthought. This was felt to need improvement.
This led to a considerable amount of detailed discussion on this issue. While the existing road width determines the size of the bike lanes and pedestrian paths, it was pointed out that some municipalities had reduced the road width for vehicles and increased the size of bike lanes. While this slows down vehicle speeds and journey times, it also improves safety!
The discussion also centered on the use of electric scooters and e-bikes. These are often used on pedestrian and bike lanes, and there are clear dangers when these types of transport can generate speeds of 20 to 30 mph. Those who use them often wear no helmets; thus, they are associated with an alarming rise in injuries.
Some municipalities, like Estero, only allow Class 1 E-bikes (maximum assisted speed of 20 mph) on sidewalks and bike paths. Still, there are no consistent regulations in place that require further examination. Ordinances are in place in some municipalities, but Bonita Springs doesn’t have one, and Estero Village does. It was agreed that there needed to be more consistency across municipalities.
BERT would be worthwhile in helping improve safety. Concerns were expressed about the delays in moving forward with this initiative.
Enforcement of speed limits and red-light running requires more attention.
The use of cameras was discussed as an important means of enforcement.
Privacy concerns would need to be addressed
Narrow shoulders on I75 were criticized as dangerous. Law enforcement had safety concerns when pulling drivers over for traffic violations.
When the new entertainment complex is developed on Via Coconut and Williams Road, people will be using River Ranch Road, which is not designed to take a lot of traffic – this was expressed as a potential future concern.
Some side roads leading from Via Coconut and Broadway onto US 41 need to be examined.
High traffic density following concerts at Hertz Arena has led to huge delays for those leaving and those caught up in the traffic. Frustration can lead to errors of judgment and accidents – more should be done to address this. Cut-through traffic is a safety concern.
On East Corkscrew, more care is needed in the planning for gated communities on the north and south of the road to match their entrances and exits and enable one set of traffic lights to be used for multiple communities.
Other items mentioned included:
It was pointed out that various countermeasures can be used depending on the circumstance. These involve speed management, multiple procedures to enhance safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, and changes to intersections and road departures.
The chart below summarizes the road countermeasure. As mentioned earlier, they coordinate with the FDOT and consider the information provided by various municipalities when determining the needed actions.
The implementation process needs to incorporate the following aspects: education, encouragement, enforcement, equity, and evaluation.
Towards the end of the meeting, Ron Gogoi answered several questions that Engage Estero had received before the meeting.
Ron addressed the timeline for the Rails to Trails development and pointed out the lengthy process of obtaining grants and funding for the project. If funds are forthcoming, the earliest work to be completed would be in 2031.
The next question addressed was, “What are the plans to reexamine the possibility of extending Route 951 north of Collier County? And What route will it take?”
Ron first pointed out the route considered in 2005 as part of Lee County’s PD&E Study. Route 951 is an unfunded needs project in the Lee MPO’s 2045 Transportation Plan. However, a segment of this route called the Airport Haul Road Extension, north of East Corkscrew Road to Alico, is in the MPO’s Cost Feasible Plan and is expected to be built in the 2036 to 2045.
If it were to be reconsidered, the issues of the route to the south are far from clear. There was some discussion about whether the road could form part of Immokalee Road leading north, but no firm decisions about its construction or the route have been made. Various alignments will be considered part of the ongoing CR 951 Feasibility Study Alternatives, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Ron discussed the concerns expressed and the actions taken if a driver inadvertently drives the wrong way onto I75. These typically occur on the off-ramps in FDOT District 1, and the hot spots are all in Lee County. 75% of wrong-way driving occurs at night and is committed by inebriated drivers.
He pointed out that a wrong-way driver notification system on off the off-ramp is activated after a vehicle trips the detection devices to trigger LED warning lights around wrong-way signs. An automated alert is sent to the controllers at the Regional Traffic Management Center (located at the Daniels Parkway rest area), followed by pictures of the make, model, and color of the car along with the license tag. Drivers on I-75 are cautioned via Dynamic Message Signs (posted on I 75) within 15 miles radius for 15 minutes of where the incident occurs.
An Alert has also been sent to the Florida Highway Patrol. All but three off-ramps (both NB and SB) in Lee County are currently equipped with this system (see the slide presentation for details). By the end of the year, a notification system will be implemented at Bayshore, Colonial, and the Bonita Beach Road off-ramps.
Lastly, Ron mentioned that along East Corkscrew, the concerns that had been expressed about the dangers to schoolchildren when picked up by the school buses that were not previously allowed to turn into the entrances or a safe area of a community off the road had been mostly resolved.
One of the problem communities, Verdana, now has a protected stop on Verdana Village Boulevard (with access to the mail kiosk) opposite the new Publix, where children can board the school bus following an agreement between Lee County Schools and the development.
Ron mentioned Broadway Avenue as a different example of a bus stop safety issue in Estero, where the Village resolved the problem of students having to wait on the pavement by building concrete pads of the road pavement with lighting and seating areas for students. Ron wished to know if there were similar issues of this nature within Estero that needed to be resolved.
Allan Bowditch mentioned several important upcoming meetings and plans for the New Year.
If you couldn’t attend in person, you can still provide information about safety in Estero by completing the survey.
As part of the Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan, a dashboard was created to examine crashes in Lee County.
