© 2025 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bonita Estero Rail trail organizers near $35.2 million pledge goal

WGCU | By Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU
Published April 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM EDT
Bonita Springs residents were hoping to get a resolution last week for a 14-mile linear park project that would connect the city to Florida’s statewide network of multi-use trails. But opposition to the project from some residents and pending studies must be resolved first. Residents of The Vines, a community split by railroad tracks to be used as the trail, urged that the trail ends at Estero Parkway, shown here.
Mike Braun
/
WGCU
Railroads tracks to be used as the base for the Bonita-Estero Rail Trail, at Estero Parkway, shown here.

The Trust for Public Lands is only $2.2 million short of its pledge goal of $35.2 million toward purchasing the right-of-way for the Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT).

Bonita Springs City Council voted to pledge $17 million at Wednesday’s meeting. Estero already pledged $15 million and Collier County commissioners in January agreed to give $900,000 with the possibility of giving more.

The Trust for Public Lands has until March 2026 to purchase 11.4 miles of right-of-way from Seminole Gulf Railway. Pledging half the cost is important in securing matching funds from the state and private sources, according to a release from Deb Orton, president of Friends of Bonita Estero Rail Trail.

Grants are more available once the local governments commit to put money into the pot, Orton has said.

Bonita, Estero and Collier County have approved an agreement that establishes a task force to work on getting the rest of the funding.

The trail will begin at Estero Parkway and run to Wiggins Pass Road.

The initial plan was to start the trail at Alico Road, but Lee County decided not to pledge money because of other priorities.

The money is only for purchasing the right-of-way. BERT will have to come up with money to build the trail.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization did a bike trail feasibility study in 2023 and added it to its priority list, making it eligible for various grant funding opportunities, MPO Director Don Scott said in an email.

The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization 2023 feasibility study estimated it would cost $4 million to $6 million a mile, or between $45.6 million and $68.4 million.

The need for overpasses and bridges push up the cost. The estimates included an overpass at Alico and Corkscrew roads and Estero Parkway. Alico is no longer part of the plan. Three or four bridges would be needed to cross waterways, Hines said.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
Tags
Government & Politics WGCU NewsBonita-Estero Rail Trail
Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU
See stories by Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • FILE - Supporters of the LGBT wave their flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Cour, Oct. 8, 2019, in Washington.
    Government & Politics
    Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide
    The Associated Press
    The Supreme Court has rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices on Monday turned away an appeal from a former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling. Clerk Kim Davis had been trying to get the justices to overturn a lower-court order that she pay $360,000 in damages and attorney's fees. Justice Clarence Thomas has urged his colleagues to overturn the Supreme Court's marriage decision, much as they did in 2022 when the high court overturned the right to abortion.
  • Weather
    Florida's arctic blast is on the way; here's your mid-autumn forecast
    Irene Sans
    Temperatures will be about 20 degrees below average for this time of year, and the wind will make it feel even colder! How long will it last?
  • Environment
    Gray Catbirds – “Skulkers” and Hunters in Dense Vegetation
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    Gray Catbirds are in a bird family known as the “Mimidae” – because they mimic other birds, other animals, and even mechanical sounds. Other members of their family in Florida include the Brown Thrasher and the Northern Mockingbird – two excellent mimics that we often see and hear year-round as they feed, sing, and nest in relatively open vegetation. They often mimic the vocalizations of other bird species and it has been suggested that their mimicry may send the message that the area is crowded – and cause other birds to search for food elsewhere.