Downtown Fort Myers

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to go to Downtown Fort Myers and to say it was eye opening would be an understatement. Never before have I been truly emersed in the urban area of Fort Myers and it was wonderful to see a different side of the city I know and love. My overall impression of the area was very nice. It is very updated and kept clean, but it still has the look and style of older Fort Myers with cobble streets and brass light posts.

Most of the streets were what I would consider to be complete streets. The Main Street going down the center of Fort Myers is a two way cobble street lined with street lamps and sidewalks. I noticed pedestrians, cars, and bikes all managing to go on their way without issue or disturbing one another. There seemed to be a traffic pattern that worked and was unspoken amongst users. There were no limitations for anyone that I could visibly see; there were even dips in the sidewalks and cross paths made for those physically handicapped. Complete streets are a thing of the future and it is nice to see them being implemented in such an old city.

Considering where I live and all I encounter on the daily, I know it has an affect on my success and satisfaction. A city's design is merely that, a design for the people in it. Taking that into consideration, it must be made up for its residents to be successful and satisfied. What I mean by that is the fact that when a person is in a certain area, what they see and do will be closely related to where they live. Since I live at FGCU, the campus is designed for me to take classes and work, setting me up for success and satisfaction. Going in downtown Fort Myers I definitely saw this to be true. The local businesses lined the streets with street-side parking so town goers would be able to walk directly up to the stores to give business to causing them satisfaction and the businesses success.