Cape Coral residents call for safety measures after car drives on sidewalk at Jaycee Park

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

A car drove onto the sidewalk near the playground at Jaycee Park in Cape Coral on Tuesday afternoon, prompting residents to call for increased safety measures.

Bree Nolan, a Cape Coral resident, shared her reaction to the incident.

"I'm so glad that I wasn't there with my baby. Honestly, I thought, 'Wow, what in the world? How did that happen? How did they get onto the sidewalk with their vehicle?'" Nolan said.

The park reopened two weeks ago after the city spent $17 million on renovations, including a new playground, splash pad, and band shell.

Standing near the playground, Nolan suggested improvements to protect children and prevent vehicles from accessing pedestrian areas.

"They should definitely put a fence around the playground and splash pad areas to contain the children so that they're not running out into the roads or the sidewalks. But then also they need to put more barriers to keep cars off of the sidewalks," Nolan said.

A review of the park revealed that while some areas, such as the parking lot, are blocked off by yellow posts, other sections, like the food truck area, lack barriers.

In a statement, the city addressed the incident, saying, "As with any incident of this nature, the City will review the circumstances and evaluate whether any additional safety enhancements are appropriate."

Kelsey Koenig, another Cape Coral resident, suggested adding clearer signage to prevent confusion.

"Maybe like more like a sign that says like, not a driveway, because maybe people got confused. If it's not like a left or there's no sign saying not for cars," Koenig said.

Other park visitors expressed hope that such an incident would not happen again.

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment, and original programming on your TV.