Page 60 - LIN DEC WEB

Expansion of U.S. 41
Roads to Progress: East to Collier Boulevard
showed how a wider road
could deliver on traffic flow
Milestones in History and efficiency, as promised.
The widening of
Goodlette-Frank Road, at
ince 1979 I’ve seen plenty of change least for a while, showed
and progress in Naples and the rest of how well a local road close to
SSouthwest Florida. residential and commercial
Back then, “Naples” meant the area within development could work.
the city limits and it dominated Collier You could fly from one end
County. Now the Naples brand is attached to to the other -- before growth
development as far north as Mediterra and the ate up the added capacity.
city is dwarfed by all that. And U.S. 41, the obvious
by Jeff Lytle The common thread to all of it is forerunner of everything,
transportation – mostly roads. They either commands a footnote for its feat of engineering through swamp
allowed people and development to reach new frontiers, or roads and rock – long before mosquito control.
were required after people and development demanded more On another historic note, it is interesting how none of the
capacity. origins of Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club came to light in October
I recall one period in the 1990s when supply and demand for when news of its sale became publicized.
roads got so broken that no new ones were built in Collier for News accounts rightly connected the yacht club and marina on
three years. I recall the newspaper where I worked – back in the Naples Bay with Old Collier Golf Club when Collier Enterprises
days of original, aggressive reporting – shed light on why traffic sold both at about the same time to separate companies of huge
was so horrible and how nobody in charge would take ownership. wealth.
Meanwhile, leaders to our north, in Lee County, kept on doing More than 30 years ago, Hamilton Harbor was known as Sabal
what they did and still do so well – build roads to stay a step ahead Bay Marina. It was to be a bayfront amenity with gulf access via
of growth in all the right places. Gordon Pass for the sprawling Sabal Bay residential/commercial/
Against that background, let’s cruise memory lane and size up golf community to the east.
important additions to our road network over the years. The marina was within the city; the rest of the project was in
Starting small, I remember when Pine Ridge Road blasted the county.
eastward through the woods from Airport-Pulling Road to The marina was to be massive, requiring major wetland
Golden Gate. A similar impact was realized when Golden Gate destruction, across Naples Bay from Port Royal, where residents
Parkway, then nicknamed Coastland Boulevard, came west to feared visual and water pollution and heavy boat traffic. They
U.S. 41 North. generated an ugly political furor which spawned the area’s first
On much larger scales, the widening of Immokalee Road to political action committee, forced a key City Council hearing
Ave Maria and Vanderbilt Beach Road to Golden Gate Estates set to shift to Naples High School and delayed today’s much more
the stage for the mega boom we see in those areas today. modest marina for 13 years with lawsuits and administrative
Livingston Road served as a special milestone because it appeals. The rest of the Sabal Bay project changed hands twice and
opened virgin territory. When it debuted, people would go for now is Isles of Collier Preserve.
old-fashioned Sunday drives, or sneak onto unfinished sections, to What’s additionally interesting is how the marina joins a list
see places they had seen only from aerial photos. And it brought of local projects that many people feared in advance – only to
Bonita Springs within 10 minutes of North Naples. appreciate later.
The new Logan Boulevard The Golden Gate Parkway overpass at Airport-Pulling Road
extension does the same was resisted by many as a sign of urban overbuild. Actually, it
thing, again, a few miles east turned out to be a bold solution to a pressing problem.
of Livingston – known as An expansion of Coastland Center Mall was protested as a
Imperial and Three Oaks destroyer of the Lake Park neighborhood next door. Actually, a
parkways in Bonita and little traffic engineering made it a beacon of the community.
Estero. Logan earns an St. Matthew’s House was opposed as a magnet for the homeless
asterisk for being the truly and crime. It is now a true friend.
scenic (and quiet) route, And believe it or not, the first of Naples’ two
meandering through wildlife Ritz-Carltons was dreaded by some otherwise
preserves at leisurely speeds astute people as the killer of existing
and no heavy trucks. local tourism, which it instead
Overpass at Golden Gate Parkway
and Airport-Pulling Road. uplifted.

60 Life in Naples | December 2021