Friday, February 21, 2003

By JOHN HENDERSON, jfhenderson@naplesnews.com

It took Joseph Quinty an hour and 40 minutes on Thursday to drive from the Collier County Division of Transportation office in Naples to a public workshop in Estero.

The planner was among several county officials who got snagged in a serious traffic backup along Interstate 75 on their way to the public workshop in which the extension of Collier Boulevard was being discussed.

Ironically, an extension of Collier Boulevard that now ends at Immokalee Road up into Lee County has been discussed as a possible alternative route when traffic is backed up on Interstate 75.

"I guess this shows the need for it (the extension)," he said as he came in.

The workshop was the public's first chance to comment on a three-year Project Development and Environment Study that is costing Lee County more than $2.25 million and Collier County $250,000.

It will involve numerous public workshops and "consensus building" sessions to discuss what possible routes Collier Boulevard might take as it goes northward. Officials have talked about extending the highway, also known as County Road 951, as far north as Alico Road.

Valerie Tudor, of Valerie Tudor & Associates, is a psychologist who is overseeing the team-building sessions. She said the extensive public involvement proposed is unlike anything she has ever seen before.

"I want to be able to share this model," she said.

Ralph S. Bove Jr., of Dyer, Riddle, Mills & Precourt Inc., is the consultant who will oversee the PD&E process. He said by going through this process, an extension of Collier Boulevard could possibly qualify for federal funding.

Some environmentalists say a case hasn't been made to extend the highway into Lee County.

"The no-project alternative will remain a viable alternative throughout this study process," Bove said. "First, we need to establish if there is a need for this project. Let's build a consensus on that before we move forward."

He said the PD&E process will evaluate what other transportation improvements would need to be made if the "no-build" option is taken.

He said the public will receive updates about the status of the process on a Web page, http://www.cr951.com/. Project-related information will be available and people will be able to submit comments.

The path that the highway is expected to take out of Collier County is not as much a mystery as in Lee County, where there could be serious opposition to any routes, as was the case a couple of years ago when several specific routes were debated. That process was scrapped in favor of "consensus-building."

Collier County is requiring as part of its approval that a right of way be set aside along the western fringe of Heritage Bay, a 2,562-acre golf course development proposed by U.S. Home Corp. at the northeast corner of the intersection of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard. The proposed extension could then angle through the 1,700-acre Mirasol golf course project, where the project developer has agreed to set aside two easements: one in a northwesterly direction, the other on a straight path.

Lee transportation planner Dave Loveland said at the beginning of the workshop that this PD&E process will address environmental issues of going in those paths.

"Mirasol has a problem. It's very wet in there," he said. "There is a slough running through the property. How you cross that (with a highway extension) is going to be a key factor in this process we're going through."

Two property owners along the Lee County line have set aside easements for the road to go through their projects. One is on the eastern side of the Parklands Lee development. Another goes through the Corkscrew Growers property, which is directly east of Parklands Lee.

"These may not be the best locations (for the road to come into Lee County) when going through alternative analyses," he said.

Many people are carefully watching what routes the highway could take after it exits Bonita Beach Road. The South Florida Water Management District plans to buy up only the properties to the east of an extension for a preservation project.

Several public officials have talked about a route that would have the extension going northward along Bonita Grande Drive, but that could also have its problems, Loveland said.

He said some people have discussed making the Collier Boulevard extension a limited-access toll road.

"How do you provide access to properties that have it now? That is a factor to consider when using an alignment of an existing road. From our standpoint, there are a lot of people who have had suggestions about alternatives. All options are on the table."

Officials have talked about hooking the extension into Ben Hill Griffin Parkway.

Loveland said that residents who live in Wildcat Run, a community just south of Corkscrew Road in a general direction of Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, have gone on record as opposed to an extension that would jet in-between their project and Stoneybrook.

The PD&E process is scheduled to be complete in the summer of 2005.

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