Three months of corridor construction begins Wednesday in Naples

Starting Wednesday, a portion of Naples will be closed. It will be under construction for three months while the city makes improvements to the streets.

Some residents are already noticing impeding work being set up.

“I was wondering what’s happening here,” said Gledson Misso, a Naples resident.

What is happening: corridor construction!

The City of Naples will work along 8th St. stretching from 5th Ave. S to 7th Ave. N starting on Wednesday.

They are making improvements to roads and sidewalks. It is to make the area more accessible and safer for people to get around, whether it is in a car, on foot or a bike.

“My 3-year-old son and I go for a lot of bike rides on the weekends,” Brita Jessen said. “We struggle a lot with traffic around here.”

Jessen said it could be tricky. Currently, the 8th St. corridor is a mixed bag as some intersections have signals while others do not. Some roads have lanes for bikes and some do not. There are different landscape designs and on-street parking.

“Because the cars park nose in that means they’re reversing out and that actually is a really dangerous situation, which means we have to bike on the sidewalks,” Jessen said. “Which also isn’t safe because that’s where pedestrians and dogs are.”

The city is breaking the project up into phases. It will start with 5th Ave. S to 3rd Ave. S. They will also work on drainage improvements and a roundabout. If you are driving in the corridor, allow extra time for your trip.

The first phase should be close to being completed by Thanksgiving. Then, phase two will start after the season ends in 2020.

Neighbors said updating the streets to be in line with others will make the area safer, along with attracting more tourists and create a healthier lifestyle.

“The more biker friendly they do it,” Misso said, “I think people are going to start looking into it and purchasing bike and leaving their cars in the driveway for a while.”