Our Community Needs Naples Pathways Coalition– And We Need You

by Michelle Avola-Brown, Executive Director, Naples Pathways Coalition

Collier County and Naples are renowned for their incredible beauty and quality of life. We want to enjoy all aspects of our community, and safety for people who bike and walk is a big part of that. But there’s a problem: many of our streets are terribly dangerous for those traveling on foot or by bicycle. Distracted driving, speeding, and lack of awareness of pedestrians and cyclists have led to many crashes that have changed lives forever. Whether you are a parent of young children or enjoy walking or riding for exercise or pleasure, you probably think twice before setting out on our roads.

And, sadly, since Florida has the highest rate of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities of any other state, your concerns are real! Shouldn’t we all be able to share the road safely? Isn’t it time to change our laws to prioritize safety for pedestrians and cyclists? We have seen too many severe injuries and fatalities – and we know more will come – unless we take decisive action.

Naples Pathways Coalition aims to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists in Collier County by educating lawmakers, law enforcement officers, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers about the reality of our roads and safer ways to use them. We fight for laws that protect the safety of all road users and for the development of safe infrastructure in roadway design to ensure every road user is considered when roads are added or modified. Our passion remains undeterred: the need for safety for people who bike, walk, or run has only grown stronger.

The first of our two keystone projects is the Paradise Coast Trail, which will be a 70+ mile paved, ten to twelve-foot wide separated trail connecting Naples to Collier Seminole State Park, Bonita Springs, Ave Maria, Immokalee, and Marco Island. This will be a trail that everyone can enjoy without fear of being run down by a distracted or aggressive driver. Counters on the Gordon River Greenway show that nearly 1,000 pedestrians and cyclists (and dogs) enjoy the trail daily during season, even though it is only four miles long and not connected to other trails.

Naples Pathways introduced the vision for the trail in 2018. In 2020, we successfully applied for and received $250,000 in state funding through a Legislative Funding Request endorsed by Senator Passidomo and helped raise another $100,000 to complete the $350,000 initial Feasibility Study. We bypassed the lengthy transportation project list, which put the Paradise Coast Trail five years ahead of schedule. The study for the entire 70-mile corridor was completed in July of 2022.

The Paradise Coast Trail has been adopted into the State of Florida’s SUN Trail System and is now part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s planning process. This means it will be expedited and should be completed within five to seven years. This trail is vital to enhance safe walking, running, and bicycling and reduce crashes and fatalities. It will also provide significant economic benefits to Collier County and the entire region. We must drive community support and involvement to encourage local and state leaders to prioritize this project. We need to ensure completion is expedited.

Our second keystone project is ending distracted driving through our Hands-Free Florida campaign. On average, nine people die on Florida roads EVERY DAY, and six of these tragic deaths are attributed to distracted driving. Although texting while driving is a primary offense in Florida, the loopholes in our laws make it hard to enforce. We are pushing for hands-free cell phone use legislation in Florida. There are already 29 other states with this legal requirement that is saving lives. Ohio enacted a hands-free cell phone use law in April 2023, and there was a 25% reduction in road fatalities in the six months that followed compared to the same period the previous year. What if we could save one out of every four lives that are taken on our roads?

At the time of this writing, we have received unanimous, bipartisan support from two subcommittees for our House Bill 1469, and we are awaiting movement on our Senate Bill 1664, which both would require hands-free cell phone use on every Florida road. We will keep working to ensure this legislation is enacted in Florida. We invite you to join us on this important mission! You can do that by becoming a member of Naples Pathways. Please visit www.NaplesPathways.org/Join

You can participate in our events. The 18th Annual Naples Bike Brunch & Walk is on March 3rd: www.bit.ly/BIKEBRUNCH2024, and we are hosting a movie premiere of The Engine Inside on March 19th: www.bit.ly/EngineInside

You can help us end distracted driving by committing to put your phone down while driving, use Bluetooth for any phone use behind the wheel, and sign our petition at www.HandsFreeFlorida.org

You can also make a tax-deductible donation at www.NaplesPathways.org/Donate Collier County is such a wonderful place to live and visit, and with the community’s support, we will make it a wonderful place to walk, run, and bike as well! For further information or questions about getting involved, please contact Michelle@NaplesPathways.org