Collier County approves $11.6M rail corridor buy for trail

Collier County commissioners this week agreed to pay $11,642,069 to acquire about 24.3 acres of the Seminole Gulf Railway corridor for the proposed Bonita Estero Rail Trail. 

The purchase agreement between the county and the nonprofit Trust for Public Land involves about 1.5 miles within Collier County that eventually will be part of a 400-mile trail extending to Tampa. County road impact fees will fund $245,513.76, while the remainder will come from Conservation Collier funds, which drew protests from environmentalists. 

“This acquisition supports the county’s Strategic Plan by expanding quality public amenities and recreational opportunities through interim public trail use of the rail corridor,” Transportation Management Services Department Head Trinity Scott wrote in a memo to commissioners. “It also advances the Strategic Plan focus on developing and utilizing partnerships to ensure county facilities and services meet public expectations.” 

The village of Estero will contribute $19.8 million for 4.1 miles, while Bonita Springs agreed to ask voters whether it should borrow up to $35 million to fund a 5.8-mile segment. A referendum is planned for the Aug. 18 primary election. A majority vote would allow city officials to issue general obligation bonds to fund a $28.6 million acquisition of inactive Seminole Gulf Railway corridor. 

Together, the three governments would fund 11.4 miles of corridor acquisition, totaling about $60 million, from Seminole Gulf Railway, a Fort Myers-based family-owned rail operator that will remove the rails. BERT will be similar to the Legacy Trail, a roughly 23-mile paved, multiuse path connecting downtown Sarasota to the historic Venice Train Depot. 

BERT’s first phase would convert an unused rail corridor from Wiggins Pass Road near the Collier-Lee county line to Estero Parkway into a public trail as part of a statewide network. It also will connect to Paradise Coast Trail near Veterans Memorial Boulevard, which is being extended by Collier County and the developer of the planned 313-home Imperial Lakes community. 

The trail would eventually connect to the 6-mile John Yarbrough Trail in Fort Myers and continue north to Alico Road, becoming part of the more than 400-mile Florida Gulf Coast Trail linking Collier County to Tampa. 

Supporters say the trail would provide walkers and bicyclists a safe route away from traffic, promote fitness and mental wellness, expand recreation and improve water quality by removing railroad ties and eliminating chemical weed control along the corridor.