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Bonita Today: What will the future of Bonita Springs hold?

By CHUCK CURRY (Contact)

Friday, March 2, 2007

Each edition of the Banner includes an "On the Street" feature where we ask people questions about the community. It is fun (unless you are asking the questions, then you can get the ‘you’re a telemarketer look’ as you approach someone on the sidewalk) and informative.

One resident quoted in today’s Banner had an additional ominous warning about life in Bonita Springs.

"In a couple of years, we’ll be moving," said Ernest Aquilio.

The Bonita Springs resident said he is fed up with crowded highways that need improvement and the overall crowding that chokes local roads, restaurants and other commercial establishments for more and more months each year.

Photo by CHUCK CURRY / Banner

A photograph today shows a license plate from Delaware. It is the "First State" (if you haven’t studied your civics), becoming a state on Dec. 7, 1787. While the license plate is obviously a monogram, it is rare to see a Delaware plate in Southwest Florida (unlike Ohio and Michigan).

Aquilio, who heads to work in Naples each morning on Interstate 75, says early traffic is easy to navigate. As each day goes forward, the traffic backs up and the trip home is, to put it simply, a headache.

Everyone is used to seasonal traffic complaints. But when residents such as Aquilio say the situation has dissolved to the point of moving, it is worth noting.

David Piper, whose family founded the Wonder Gardens on Old 41 Road, mentioned in a recent interview that the future of Bonita Springs is one of gated communities.

It is sad to note that both have a point.

Mr. Aquilio shouldn’t have to believe he needs to move to find better traffic flow and other amenities. At the same time, Mr. Piper shouldn’t hear the sirens’ call to sell his 3.5 acres on the Imperial River (although with a price tag above $6 million, he’d almost have to be crazy to turn it down).

Yet, both opinions offer a vision of the future. The past, as Piper said, is gone. We’re not a fishing village any more. Yet, the character lost (or about to be lost) is what might drive some from the community. Others believe the character, while taking a hit, remains in Bonita Springs.

None of this is easy to solve.

Without current road projects, everyone would have a transportation problem. Since road contractors seldom meet deadlines and do more to impede traffic than improve it, I’d have to say the cynicism from residents is more than justified.

It is just too bad that infrastructure issues (to coin a bureaucracy term) leave residents such as Aquilio in the bind to find a better home for his or her family.

I’m not a big fan of supporting corporate branding in the marketplace, but I have to say I was quite impressed with my recent visit to Bass Pro Shops’ Outdoor World at the Gulf Coast Town Center in San Carlos Park.

I’ve cruised through both Gulf Coast Town Center and Coconut Point in Estero (actually shopping in Swoozie’s at Coconut Point), but my visit this past Thursday to Bass Pro Shops was... well, cool.

It is big. It sells lures and boats. It sells golf equipment and all-terrain vehicles. Really? Yes. It also has a restaurant (the Islamorada Fish Company). Ask my family. If I’m impressed with a store, it has something special.

Promotions Manager Janet Courtney gave me a brief tour and it was eye-opening. The Outdoor World store (since there are boat sales, golf equipment and other merchandise beyond a typical Bass Pro Shops outlet) has two of the biggest aquariums in the area (the fresh-water tank comes in at 19,000 gallons and has bass, bream, catfish and more; and the salt water tank at 12,000 gallons is another of the largest of its kind in Lee County (although I’ll say the variety of fish is better in the fresh-water tank).