Lively Up Yourself

As I look around the Cape, I see a lot of change happening. Some of it seems to take a long time to complete. Other projects or buildings seem to be completed nearly overnight. I guess I'm guilty of paying more attention to changes around town than I should.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for progress. The truth is that I actually have a few ideas of my own where sprucing up Cape Coral is concerned.




I can't profess to having any political agenda, so my ideas are quite varied. There is so much that can be said, I'm not exactly sure where I should begin. Maybe I just feel a need to keep the unique issues we face in focus. While it's all just food for thought, I guess I'll go ahead and start a dialogue.

The southeast Cape comes to mind. I think that if all the potholes along the downtown area of Cape Coral Parkway were filled, visitors could really appreciate the expensive paver sidewalks and light poles as they enter downtown, as opposed to dodging potholes. Yep, that would be a good start! I suppose after finishing that little paving project, I can get busy on any of a number of areas, as so many are in dire need of being re-paved. Some of the roads north of Kismet look like a war zone where the pavement is concerned.

I suppose it doesn't really matter which direction we go from there. Since it's season around here, I know I can usually expect a protracted and scenic cruise, complete with frequent stops..often, unnecessarily long. Maybe it's time we got our civil engineers to re-time some of the lights along Del Prado Boulevard? Speaking of Del Prado Boulevard, I'm sort of wondering if the widening going on north of Pine Island Road will ever be complete.

On a lighter note, I cant help but think that Cape Coral should 'lively up' its image. Of course, there are dozens of possible solutions as to how to go about that. One idea that I believe will make a huge difference would be to hire Ms. Leoma Lovegrove to repaint our Gateway Arches! She is an artist whose amazing use of color in would say 'welcome' in a way that the tan, neutral and kind of boring present finish can not.

Cape Coral needs to capitalize on the resources it already has nearby. Pine Island is this nation's largest producer of mangoes. Shouldn't we really give each new resident a mango Tree? What about a fishing rod, too? Our Gulf Coast waters are a sportsman's paradise. Now, that's unique, right? A mango tree and fishing pole with every new home! I like the sound of that.

I have always been a big fan of Cape Coral's many lovely parks, so I believe we should work to increase our Parks and Recreation funding and distinguish our fair community from others in neighboring areas. We need to have more events designed to draw more national participants, hopefully, generating more nationwide buzz. So, the newly proposed NCAA national swimming center will be a welcome addition! We could also use a couple more dog / pet friendly parks like Rotary Park as well as another boardwalk, like the one at Four Mile Ecological Preserve.

We need our recreation areas to remain safe. Since the Nile Monitor lizard has been deemed a threatening and invasive species here, I think a creative solution is in order. We could start with a designated 'open season' on the Monitor, complete with cash rewards for captures.(P.E.T.A. might get upset if we offer rewards for dead monitors.) Maybe we could get the local Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a Monitor Lizard Round-Up? If none of these ideas pan out, we might be forced to seek some sort of predatory control for their unchecked growth. For that, we can always train our native Burrowing Owl population to find and eat Monitor eggs.
Problem solved!

I can't wait for Spring!
_Wray

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