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Editorial: Lee has golden chance to do much with little
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Bike lanes.
These days they ought to be more popular than ever, even among those who don’t ride but are still interested in public health and saving gas.
Having more lanes often means building them from scratch alongside existing or future roadways or, if we’re really lucky, through woods.
Yet, in Lee County, as many as 250 miles of bike lanes appear tantalizingly close. They already exist in the form of broad shoulders on the right-hand side of some county roads.
The only reason they are not full-fledged bike lanes is that they have not been maintained — kept clear of grass, weeds and even plants and trees put there on purpose.
In response to bicycling enthusiasts, the county says it would cost between $3 million and $5 million to upgrade all the lanes all at once.
Problem is, money is tight for the fundamental work as well as the annual maintenance.
County commissioners have handed the dilemma to an advisory committee.
Our 2 cents: The county has a Complete Streets program. These days a street without bike lanes is short of complete.
Who says all 250 miles have to be cleared all at once? How about phasing in the upgrade over, say, three years?
That might get things rolling.
It might even prod Collier County to see if it has any resources that are less than fully exploited.
This can be a defining opportunity: Are we serious about bike lanes or not?
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