New sidewalks are coming to Cape Coral.
During a council meeting May 6, the Cape Coral City Council approved roughly $1.3 million for pedestrian safety improvements.
The resolution awards $1,295,603 to Southern Striping Solutions LLC for the Ceitus-Orchid-SW 22nd Terrace Sidewalk Improvement Project. The project will add sidewalks in three neighborhood areas.
Here’s where new sidewalks will be added:
A 5% contingency fund brings the total potential cost to about $1,360,383. City staff said the project is intended to improve safety for residents who currently walk along streets shared with vehicles.
Construction is expected to finish within 180 days after the city issues a notice to proceed.
The vote came during a tense council meeting that included two recesses and the removal of two individuals.
How did we get here, and what’s changing?
City records show many corridors lack sidewalks, posing safety risks.
The city maintains an eight-person sidewalk construction crew and a three-person repair team. While those crews handle daily work, contractors are used for larger expansion projects.
The city’s Multimodal Transportation Master Plan recommends 38 sidewalk projects totaling 75.2 miles of new pathways to connect routes to schools.
Crash data underscores risks
Between Jan. 1, 2025, and Nov. 30, 2025, there were 194 traffic crashes involving bicycles and/or pedestrians in Cape Coral, according to the Cape Coral Police Department. Of the 194 crashes, 91 resulted in injuries and one was fatal.
In 2019, 8-year-old Layla Aiken was struck and killed by a pickup truck while waiting for her school bus in the dark. She was sitting on the edge of the roadway at the corner of Northeast 19th Terrace because there was no designated safe area or bench.
Her death sparked the “Lights For Layla” movement, a fundraiser that advocated for lights, benches and other safety measures at school bus stops.
What safety gaps did residents describe?
Cape resident Rick Shafer said sidewalks would improve safety by giving pedestrians and students a place to walk and gather at bus stops, rather than using the street.
Shafer said, “I believe that all neighborhoods should have sidewalks for pedestrians, young and old.”
Mike Antropoli, a North Fort Myers resident, said the lack of sidewalks in Cape Coral was a primary reason he moved out of the city.
“I did not want to purchase a home on a street without sidewalks. Amongst the many things I dislike about Cape Coral that is one of them,” he told The News-Press & Naples Daily News. “Not to mention the curb appeal of houses with sidewalks. Bicyclists are not supposed to use sidewalks but with the crazy distracted drivers here it’s much more safe to bicycle on a sidewalk. Side streets in Cape Coral are also unusually narrow.”
He described his experience as a delivery driver, adding, “Between people out for a walk, people walking their dogs, kids playing outside and bicyclists, it was very dangerous. Had a few close calls. Especially at dusk and night.”
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Mickenzie Hannon is a watchdog reporter for The News-Press and Naples Daily News, covering Collier and Lee counties. Contact her at 239-435-3423 or mhannon@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral OKs $1.3M for new sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety
Reporting by Mickenzie Hannon, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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