For years, the Bonita Estero Rail Trail has been in the works to get a dedicated pedestrian path from Fort Myers all the way down to Naples.

The proposed trail would start at Alico Road and would offer an unbroken pedestrian path south, eventually ending up in Bonita Springs, at Bonita Beach Road, and extending beyond.

People like Gary Finnerty of Bonita Springs were there. Despite having to possibly demolish his shed for the trail, he’s still in favor of it.

“I actually like the idea of a rail trail. Walking, riding bikes, tennis at the house, main transportation is bicycles,” Finnerty said to ABC-7 News. 

Thanks to people like Gary and the Facebook Group called “Friends of BERT”, public support for the project is growing, despite the ongoing negotiations between the track’s owner: Seminole Gulf Rail, and the Trust for Public Land, the same group behind the Sarasota Rail Trail.

Right now, the biggest obstacles to the project are costs, like how much Seminole Gulf Rail wants for the land, and concern from property owners over issues like trespassing.

The proposed multiuse Bonita Springs Estero Rail Trail will start at Bonita Beach Road in the south and end at Alico Road at the north end.  This trail is roughly 14 miles long and will replace the existing, disintegrating, Seminole Gulf railroad.  The width of the rail corridor is anywhere from 90 to 130 feet across and encompasses 235 acres.  The rail corridor also includes several bridges crossing over major and minor tributaries that lead into Estero Bay.

To keep up to date with the project, click here.