Pine Island sidewalk repairs begin as residents reflect on Hurricane Ian recovery

Construction crews began repairs on the Stringfellow Road sidewalk on Pine Island, a project funded by a nearly $2 million federal grant aimed at supporting the island's recovery from Hurricane Ian.

Tiffany Gray, a Pine Island resident, described the sidewalk as "a bike path that the island spent a lot of money on."

She and her husband, Mark Gray, have lived on Pine Island for years and remember the damage caused by the hurricane.

"It tore the island up bad, it tore it up bad," Mark Gray said.

For the Grays, projects like the sidewalk repairs symbolize the progress Pine Island has made since the storm.

"The recovery and what we've seen come back in three to four years is literally amazing," Mark Gray said.

Despite the progress, the Grays expressed concerns about the use of the bike path.

"The bicyclists, some of them, not all of them, they don't use it," Tiffany Gray said. "Why don't people just use bike paths when they're available?"

Mark Gray shared his hope that the repairs will encourage more cyclists to use the path.

"It makes it a smoother ride so that all the bicycle riders can use it," he said.

The construction project will repair sections of the sidewalk from St. James City to Bokeelia. County officials expect crews to complete the project by the end of the year.