FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District One hosted a public hearing Thursday about redesign plans for State Road 739 (Metro Parkway) and Daniel's Parkway intersection.
The plan includes a Continuous Flow Intersection (CFI) that would have drivers cross over the opposite lanes to turn left on Metro Parkway and left turns on Daniel's Parkway would remain as normal.
“The need behind this design was first looked at in 1999, and it was a question of capacity," said Patricia Pichette, FDOT Communication Specialist. "Now we have the funding to do something about it, so this is the first step towards saying, 'This is how we would like for it to look,' and we’re asking the general public for their opinions.”
The proposed remodel would cost about $50 million for land and construction. The plan adds wider lanes, sidewalks, and bike lanes. Pichette says it will helps the traffic flow better and hopefully prevent collisions.
“Almost all of the projects we do are a safety concern," said Pichette. "They could have gone to this intersection and made no allowances for special crosswalks; made no allowances to widen the sidewalks, and made no allowances for bike lanes. Safety is a part of everything we do so absolutely it's apart of this project.”
Frequent users of the intersection came to the public hearing to find out what this change means for them. Kathy Turner and Kimberly Trapanese live nearby the intersection and tell Fox 4 they are happy something is being done about it.
"I’m excited!" said Turner. "I think it’s a wonderful edition, but as residents of Camelot we have an issue with the Daniel’s traffic and apparently this isn’t going to address that issue."
“When you look at Colonial, Lee Boulevard, and other areas that have been fixed, it’s nice that somethings being done to look towards the future," said Trapanese.
The current project schedule has construction beginning in 2026. For more information on the project, visit the Florida Department of Transportation project website.
