New street banners approved to hang
A recommendation of the Public Safety Committee and Safety Task Force has been granted to raise awareness.
Three new pedestrian awareness banners with a revised layout will be hung above Estero Boulevard and will replace the current ones that can be seen at different locations along the Town corridor.
The new banners have been redesigned after public comments were taken into consideration. They are expected to be hung before the upcoming tourism season. The estimated overall cost is $1,000, which will be taken from the task force’s original approved budget.
“The idea is to get a simple message out that would be easily seen,” said Public Safety Committee chair Bruce Butcher. “There was a lot concerns from people that the current banners are not very visible.
Butcher was dressed in bicycle-style clothes with a bright, lime-green shirt that appeared to have a light “breathable” texture.
“The idea of ‘it’s cool to be seen on Fort Myers Beach’ is a theme that we thought we would like to promote. We would like to do that with t-shirts, bracelets and other things and tie it back into the safety brochure.”
Two of the banners will read: “Yield to (pedestrian symbol) and (bicycle symbol)” on the entrance side of each bridge and “Be Safe Be Smart Be Seen” on the other side. The mid-island banner will read: “Be Seen On FMB.”
FMB Mayor Alan Mandel suggested the “Yield” side of the banner face the bridges.
“For the most part, these banners are for drivers of cars coming onto our island to be sure that they are aware of what are law is and be reminded that they should be stopping for people,” he said. “The key to me is that the drivers need to be educated.”