Growth concerns along Sunrise Boulevard in Lehigh Acres

Rapid growth from new housing developments and new schools is raising traffic and safety concerns for drivers along Sunrise Boulevard in Lehigh Acres.

Phyllis Vonderhaar shared her frustrations during a WINK Listens event, saying daily commutes have become increasingly complex as development continues in the area.

Sunrise Boulevard is a single-lane, east–west road that connects Homestead Road and Richmond Avenue.

Vonderhaar said what should be a 20- to 30-minute drive to work often takes close to an hour.

“It can take me an easy 50 minutes just to get out of my neighborhood,” Vonderhaar said. 

Traffic congestion increases near Amanecer Elementary School and Lehigh Middle School, located near Vonderhaar’s home on Genevieve Drive.

Vonderhaar said additional development is adding pressure to an already busy roadway. About 600 new homes are being built in the area, with limited access points.

“Unfortunately, there is just one way in, one way out,” she said.

Vonderhaar believes extending Sunrise Boulevard to connect with Bell Boulevard could help ease congestion and provide alternative routes for drivers.

“If they could open that up, that would give a lot of people a lot of options,” Vonderhaar said. “That’s what I would hope would happen soon.”

A Lee County spokesperson said such a project would be significant and is not currently planned.

“Connecting Sunrise over the canal would be a sizable capital improvement project. It would likely require four-laning of at least some portion of Sunrise between the canal and Bell Boulevard, which would have substantial impacts on many existing residents along the portion of Sunrise east of the canal,” the spokesperson said in an email.

“The project currently is not in Lee County’s Capital Improvement Plan, and there is no identified funding source for a project of that size. Lee County Department of Transportation is aware of the growth that is happening in that area and continues to monitor conditions." 

Vonderhaar hopes county leaders and transportation officials take action as growth in the area continues.