Home › Bonita › Bonita
Study shows demand for transit increasing in south Lee County
Photo Gallery
Lee County new bus route
A new study recommends bus routes within a year serving Three Oaks, Bonita Beach Road, Treeline, Terry Street, Old 41 and Alico. The study also recommends addressing the needs of Manna Christian within the next year and improving service to RSW.
RELATED STORIES
- Lee County bus drivers ready to roll to new year’s routes
- Residents urge connecting Collier, Lee transit systems
Related Links
- View the full traffic report from the Lee County Department of Transportation.
- Special section: Get more traffic news in our special section
More Bonita
- Lee County Sheriff Alert: Possible child abduction in Lee County
- Bonita City Council to vote on proposed disabled veterans benefit
- Lee County Police Briefs: Dec. 3, 2008
Tell us about it
- What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
- Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
- Upload photos & videos
- More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.
STORY TOOLS
Share and Enjoy [?]
BONITA SPRINGS — Instead of cutting routes, Lee County should be providing more bus service in south Lee County.
That’s what a new study of the demand for transit in Bonita Springs, Estero and San Carlos Park shows, recommending routes the length of Imperial-Three Oaks Parkway and on Terry Street, Old 41 Road and out Bonita Beach Road to Manna Christian in Bonita Springs.
There is no estimate for how much adding the new routes would cost. There’s also no money to add them.
“Is this year going to be the year? That’s a tough one,” said Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall.
Hall sits on the county Metropolitan Planning Organization, which will receive the new study Friday, and on its Transit Oversight committee. She said it’s no surprise to her that transit demand has increased down south.
“That’s where the population growth is,” she said.
The population of Bonita Springs tripled between 1980 and 1990, and then it almost tripled again between 1990 and 2000. By 2006 it had increased another 25 percent to almost 41,000 residents. The city learned last week that its current population is 46,681, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.
In the decade after 1995, the study found, the population of Estero increased from just less than 10,000 to almost 40,000.
“The strange thing about all this talk is that every time something like this comes up someone pontificates about transit and the need for intermodal transportation,” Bonita Springs Mayor Ben Nelson Jr. said. “I say good. Produce the money.”
There’s the rub. The lone route serving Bonita Springs now is Route 150, which travels between Publix on East Bonita Beach Road and Coconut Point Mall. The route runs 12 hours a day, six days a week — for now. It could still fall before the county budget axe.
“We’ve approved Route 150 so far,” said Nelson, who’s also a member and the chair of the MPO transit committee.
So has the county — so far. Commissioners have said they want to save the route, for which the county pays about $262,000 and the city about $187,000. Transit system cuts are recommended, however, and the budget hearings are scheduled for September.
The LeeTran budget is about $22 million, with a little over half coming from property taxes.
Hall said she won’t approve eliminating individual routes without a look at the big picture.
“I’m not going to go route by route and start picking stuff off,” she said. “Funding should not be driving the program. We need to have a system we commit to and fund to it.”
Lee commissioners did adopt a Transit Development Plan two years ago that called for transit improvements across the county.
“The first year of the plan was 2007, and we did make many of those improvements,” said LeeTran planner Mike Horsting. “Fiscal ‘08 was not so good.”
The study found residents in the south section of the county are older, mostly Caucasian and richer than the rest of the county and have easier access to cars. More than a third are more than 60 years old, and about half are either older than 60 or under 15.
Both age groups are those targeted by transit planners. Some can’t drive yet and some can’t drive any more.
Horsting said that the plans are good to have for when there is a funding source. The MPO has considered an independent transit authority, one with the authority to fund bus service, likely with a sales tax.
MPO Director Don Scott said that the county and all five municipalities have signed off on an agreement to try to create an authority. Hall points out that took almost three years. An authority could be created only by referendum, which means voters would have to agree to pay a tax for transit.
“That’s 2009 or 2010,” Scott said. “I think more like 2010.”
“The idea is to separate it from the county budget so politics won’t play a part,” said Nelson. “The reality is if we pull LeeTran out of the county, we still have to pay for it.”
The MPO meets at the Regional Planning Council offices in downtown Fort Myers. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. Friday.
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Break our rules, and we will ban you. No exceptions, no second chances. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
Government should NOT offer any service that can be provided by the free-market.
EXAMPLES:
http://greyhound.com
Alert Non-Emergency Transportation 239-656-3909
Blue Bird Taxi 239-275-8294
Carpool and share transportation costs.
http://www.LaborReady.com
VOLUNTEERS
http://www.interfaithflorida.org/
http://www.fishofsanibel.com/
http://www.reason.org/commentaries/ba...
LeeTran is NOT cost effective.
It is UNFAIR for governments to spend taxes to subsidize LeeTran.
Monthly income, expense, and rider totals for each bus route should be posted online.
http://www.rideleetran.com/
#1 Posted by jacktanner on August 20, 2008 at 10:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I believe LeeTrans, should be the only authority, and overseen by County Commissioners. They are doing a great job, moving over 3.5 million people last year, with only 150 buses. As, I see driving around town, more and more people are sitting and waiting for buses, at bus stops. Ridership seems to me, is rising everyday, and after the elections, when gas will rise again, more people will be riding those buses. I don't believe we need to tax anyone. I believe the "interest" on the 150 million dollars, in county reserves could cover the cost, as more people come on board, fares, and the increase in ridership will pay for the system to become 100 % percent self-sufficient!
Political ad. pd. for and approved by Gerard David, Jr. Rep. for Lee county Comm. Dist.1
#2 Posted by gerardjr on August 21, 2008 at 12:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The under 15 group lives in a 2-car houshold.
The over 60 group has a young wife to drive them around.
#3 Posted by Naplestango on August 21, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Of course local politicians want an Authority established. The Authority will remove them from being responsible for yearly disaster of budgeting for public bus program, aka Welfare on Wheels.
By the way, the numbers in this article are call for immediate forensic audit.
Article says annual budget is $22 million, with little over half from property taxes. From where does balance come, surely not ridership fees.
This so called service serves less than 1% of population.
Blogger #2 claims local system has 150 buses. is that so?
#4 Posted by BonitaSprings1 on August 21, 2008 at 7:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is exactly what big government wants- the sheeple to be totally dependent on government. They drive up the cost of oil by refusing to drill domestically, increasing regulations, and taxing the American companies that provide this great service. This forces the American people to be dependent on government operated transportation services.
Next they will increase your local taxes to accommodate the increased demand for public transportation. Grow, grow, grow, and tax, tax, tax. That’s their model.
Vote big government out, vote conservative values.
#5 Posted by NaplesOutlaw on August 21, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ecoterror-
That is precisely why I said “conservative values” and not “Republican values”. Bush left the conservative base a long time ago. McCain is even more liberal on social issues, but he will not spend like Bush has, or Obama will.
Also, you say McCain has a 95% lock-step with Bush. Can you support this claim?
And in response to your heartless abortion statement; aren’t you glad your mother wasn’t pro abortion?
#6 Posted by NaplesOutlaw on August 21, 2008 at 1:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Amtrak, Metrorail, the success stories of government backed transportation just keep coming.
#7 Posted by swampbuggy on August 21, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
#'s 7 & 8 Bonita as you knew it is gone baby. Any shred of past remembered is going soon. Let's hear round of applause for your boyz Nelson and yes, Spear. Both tools of the trade.
#8 Posted by BonitaSprings1 on August 21, 2008 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Blogger #3 My mistake. Leetrans, has over 50 buses and trolleys covering more than 400 miles of Lee County roadways each day, LeeTran is operated under the authority of Lee County Government and the Lee County Board of Commissioners. LeeTran operates 18 fixed bus routes which last year provided more than 3 million rides to residents and visitors. In addition, LeeTran provides a "Park and Ride" trolley service to and from Fort Myers Beach
#9 Posted by gerardjr on August 21, 2008 at 7:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
swamp, the high-speed rail amendment was approved in 2000, but reversed by another amendment in 2004 stating that the project was not financially feasible.
#10 Posted by jim09091 on August 22, 2008 at 1:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amtrak's ridership is increasing as gas prices go up. It will probably not make a direct profit but we subsidize roads and planes as well.
Gasoline consumers in our Naples Fort Myers metro area have paid about $250 million into a state fund that is supposed to go to rail but we have no passenger rail. At the cost of about $500,000. / mile the current rail bed could be rehabilitated from Bonita to Arcadia for about $60 million. Compare that to the $24.3 million we just spent on all costs for widening Old 41 north of Rosemary.
It has been stated for every dollar invested in transportation $5-$7 are indirectly returned to the local economy.
The bus and roads in Bonita are subsidized. Impacts fees have covered most of road costs but we have used monies from the general fund. Council just voted to conduct another study ( legally required) to adjust impact fees. This might reduce taxpayers $ being spent on traffic newcomers create. Might the study show that impact fees should be reduced?
The State Legislature is considering legislation this year to create mobility fees in addition to impact fees so developers pay for regional impacts. For instance, a large development is built in North Naples and affects Bonita, the mobility fees are allocated to Bonita for roads or other forms of transportation. Sounds good but there are drawbacks. The piece of the developer $ pie, for other project enhancements will be reduced and allocated only for transportation. By what formula will it be distributed? Will local decision makers spend the $ toward the correct impacts?The biggie is that it will do away with transportation concurrency. A lot to work out.
Public transportation doesn't work well with urban sprawl and scattered business centers. Land use maps need to be changed to limit sprawl, cluster commercial and encourage alternative transportation nodes.
Buses are used here primarily by those who have no alternative. It would be used by others if it were convenient. 30 years ago, though I owned a car, I used the bus in Tampa because a bus passed by every 15 minutes not every hour. I could go wherever I wanted. No gas to buy, no parking fees, nice shelters. Easy. It's not easy here. Tampa had a transit authority
High speed rail was a no go. Many didn't like the crossing of the Everglades. It may be a cleaner and safer alternative to cars. Problem: Huge expense, No funding. Maybe tourist $ (bed tax) from benefitting counties could pay for it.
#11 Posted by MarthaSimons on August 22, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oops just remembered bed tax dollars can't be used for transportation
#12 Posted by MarthaSimons on August 22, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
#15 3rd from last papagraph...sounds like 2
chapter titles from the book of TAG.
Listen to what your saying, then follow up with vote to deny funding another year of failure... Bus rt 150, Welfare on Wheels.
#13 Posted by BonitaSprings1 on August 22, 2008 at 3:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)