CAPE CORAL
An intersection in Cape Coral got a bigt of an upgrade last week, but some drivers aren’t happy with the changes.
Left turns are no more at the intersection of Del Prado Boulevard at De Navarra Parkway.
Drives are now welcomed by yellow sticks intended to prevent crashes.
The City of Cape Coral installed them last Tuesday as a temporary solution.
But David Lukasik, owner of The Bagel Factory, doesn’t believe it’s helping.
“The only thing the city has done is kicked the problem down the road to the entranceways between Bella Vita and Entrada,” Lukasik said.
WINK News witnesses what Lukasik meant.
All day long, drivers made u-turns in front of both communities.
Nunzio Laudando lives on the Entrada side.
He said the worst part is school buses full of kids forced to make the turn for drop-offs.
“There’s not obviously not enough room to make a U-turn. As you can see, it’s treacherous,” Laudando said.
Not willing to risk his life, he now avoids using the entryway.
The intersection of Del Prado Boulevard at De Navarra Parkway got a makeover for safety. (CREDIT: WINK News)
“We have to go around to the other gate,” he said. “We don’t want to go make a right and then make a U-turn. There’s just too many risks just to get out of your, you know, your community where you live.”
A four-car pile-up snarled traffic in the area earlier this month.
No one got hurt, but it’s one of 65 crashes at the intersection since 2020.
Dutch Vandrkuyp believes the city had the right intention.
“Anything that you put up, people will complain even if you put a traffic signal,” Vandrkuyp said.
And a traffic signal is what’s next, sometime early this year.
The city told WINK News it made temporary changes to the intersection to address safety concerns.
If other safety issues arise, the city will investigate and make changes if necessary.
WINK NEWS