Cape Coral entertainment district was designed for convenient parking

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Cape Coral drivers. (WINK News photo)
Cape Coral drivers. (WINK News photo)

While the Streetscape project is now complete, the City of Cape Coral said there are still several hurdles for this area to become all it can be.

A new report said the Cape’s entertainment district is not designed for pedestrian, but for convenient parking.

Cape Coral’s entertainment district comes with frequent visitors and some mixed reviews.

MORE: Read the South Cape Downtown Community Redevelopment Plan

Even with the new multi-million Streetscape improvements, a 2019 South Cape redevelopment plan said the area has a “number of issues that detract from its ability to become a true focus of the South Cape.”

One of those issues sits tall over Cape’s downtown. The Big John parking lot. The redevelopment plan said it creates a “dead zone” with inefficient parking.

The plan also points to the length of the block, which is almost 14,000 feet long, or two-and-a-half times the length of a typical city block.

To make the Cape’s entertainment district a spot for people instead of parking, a more than 100-page plan has several strategies. These include creating a central space that links Big John’s with 47th Terr. and adding events like live music and markets.

Even adding landscape elements, street trees and screened garbage cans to soften the look of downtown’s parking lot.

The redevelopment plan needs to be adopted by the council on April 15.

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