Vanderbilt plan stirs residents up

Hoping to stymie county plans to extend Vanderbilt Boulevard to Wilson Boulevard, Estates resident Steve Olivera stood outside the public meeting at Oakridge Middle School, Jan. 30, urging affected residents to refuse to sell their land, forcing condemnation of their properties.

“We need to stay together and fight this,” said Olivera. “We are going to take on the challenge.”

Olivera and Tim Nance, of the Citizens for Responsible Road Development (CFRRD) stood outside the meeting, distributing fliers promoting the widening of existing roadways rather than the construction of new roads over neighborhoods or through back yards.

The public workshop was the second held by the county’s Transportation Planning Department to secure input on the original 15 alternatives for the extension that will eventually extend Vanderbilt 10 miles east into the Estates from Collier to Desoto boulevards.

Out of the original fifteen corridor alignments proposed in September, five remain and will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for final approval.

The final routes include alternatives 3, 6, 7, 12, and 15. Of those, one alternative runs north of the Cypress Canal and one runs south with various routes extending into the residentially platted area between the canal and Wilson Boulevard.

One meeting attendee suggested the road be elevated and built over the canal to avoid the taking of any private property.

Officials said the final alternatives rose to the top based on impacts to business and residential areas, land use, right of way, and the physical environment.

Mark Teaters, president of the Golden Gate Area Civic Association (GGEACA), said that the various proposals left a cloud over the properties in the path of the possible alignments.

“We need both east-west roads as well as north-south roads and we feel the commissioners will do the best possible job,” he said of the final decision. “The information the commissioners have is good and the evaluation of the various proposed routes was based on good information. It is going to be a tough decision... as some property and homes may have to be purchased by the county.”

Others attending the meeting were not as confident as Teaters.

“They know where the road is going, this meeting is just for show,” said Ray Culver, an Estates resident and a licensed fishing guide. “We moved out here for community and not to have major roads going through.”

CFRRD member Peter Gaddy said that the process of evaluating the road alternatives was flawed and vowed his group will continue to oppose the road “in some fashion,” including possible lawsuits and/or political action.

Officials said a map of the final alternatives is to be posted at http://www.colliergov.net/transadmin/planning/index.htm