The city of Cape Coral gave an update on the Cape Coral Parkway Expansion Project today at their Community Redevelopment Agency meeting.
The city is hoping to expand Cape Coral Parkway from four to six lanes between Coronado and Del Prado Boulevard. It will likely help drivers who sit in traffic every day.
Those working on the project shared that they will remove fire hydrants, trash cans and trees, along Cape Coral Parkway. Also, about 47 parking spaces will also be removed, which are in front of local businesses, like Park and Brew.
Dan Duggan, visiting from Minnesota, ate there today. He worries this will affect local businesses.
"If you get rid of all the parking spaces, that's going to be a problem," Duggan said. "It's hard for me to get there, and I think you want to do everything possible to make sure these businesses stay open."
Daniel Larson, who works along Royal Shell Real Estate along Cape Coral Parkway said foot traffic is the concern for him.
"I don't think the parking out front is as much of an issue because we've got parking on the back side," Larson said. "What I'm interested in is, we don't get a lot of walk-in traffic at this business, but a lot of these are little coffee shops and cafes and things. I'd be really curious what's going to happen if they're cutting into the sidewalk and there's a lot of green space there."
Those working on the project said the project is important because travel times in the area reach up to about 56 minutes. They also said in 2024, there were 170 crashes in the area.
They said they would add parking elsewhere to make up for the lost spaces.
They did not provide a date on when this project may get started.
The city is widening the parkway before the new Cape Coral bridge is built, which will also have six lanes.