Residents Urged to Attend FDOT Open House on Marco Loop Trail

If you would like to see the Marco Loop Trail become a reality, you may want to attend the open house being hosted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on Thursday, June 6, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the UF/IFAS Collier Extension Office at 14700 Immokalee Road in Naples.

The Marco Loop Trail is a component of the Collier to Polk Trail master plan that will define the initial vision for a connected multi-use trail through Collier, Hendry, Glades, Highlands, Hardee, and Polk counties. 

The open house format is designed to help FDOT and their consultants gather information for use in the master plan, which is expected to be completed in July. Several members of FDOT and their consulting team are expected to be on hand to answer questions at the open house.

The Naples open house is the last of five open houses being held throughout the six county FDOT District One. 

“We just want to hear public response to the project overall,” said Jim Wood of Kimley-Horn, consultant project manager for the master plan. “DOT really wants to understand what the public interest is in this project."

The Marco Loop Trail will create a multi-use trail from the Marco Bridge to 951, north to US 41, east to SR 92, and finally south to the Goodland Bridge and back onto Marco Island. The Marco Loop Trail will tie into the rest of the segments in the master plan. 

According to Wood the open house will have information about the master plan for the project as well as some proposed alternatives. 

The three Collier County components of the master plan are the Marco Island Loop Trail, the State Road 29 Corridor to Everglades City, and the Paradise Coast Trail. The Marco Loop Trail and Paradise Coast Trail have already completed feasibility studies, which is a plus according to Wood.

“Something that already has a feasibility study is in a better position than something that does not have one,” Wood said, "because there's more study that's been done." 

Wood is hoping for a big turnout for the open house.

“This is something that is really going to help advance bicycling in Collier as well as regionally,” he said.

Scott H. Shook is a graduate of the University of Florida who retired after a long career in resort management on Marco Beach. An avid cyclist, Scott founded the Tour de Marco and has served as a member of the city’s Bike Paths Volunteer Committee since its inception. His writing and photography appear weekly in the Coastal Breeze News.