Improvement projects in the works for south Cape Coral

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CAPE CORAL, Fla. – The City of Cape Coral began work Wednesday paving a parking lot behind Nevermind Bar and Eatery off of Cape Coral Parkway.

It marked the first of several improvement projects planned for the area, but some shop and property owners are worried some of the projects could negatively affect businesses.

The South Cape Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) hopes to remove several old trees along Cape Coral Parkway that are causing damage to roads, and replace them with newer trees. They hope to add more trees than are there now in an effort to provide more shade and bring more foot traffic to the area.

“We want that to be a vibrant, commercially-driven entertainment district,” said CRA chair Rana Erbrick.

But Elmer Tabor, who owns the Big John’s Plaza along the Parkway, believes too many trees could be detrimental.

“People pay a lot of money on Cape Coral Parkway for rent. They pay that money for the visibility of their business, and they like to have people drive by and say, ‘There’s the hair salon, I think I’m gonna stop and get my hair cut.’ Well if they can’t see the sign, they don’t get the business,” said Tabor.

Erbrick says the city will take those concerns into consideration.

“The businesses down there are the life blood down there, and if we don’t have people being attracted down there and able to see what is being offered down there, that makes it difficult for the merchants to stay in business, and that’s not something we want,” Erbrick said.

The CRA still has to approve the contract for the streetscaping project, which totals $241,000. They’ll be voting July 20.

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