By Pam Nicholls, GSAC Board Member
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Naples City Council voted unanimously on March 4 in favor of moving ahead with a roundabout design for the intersection at Harbour Drive and Crayton Road.
Safety was the cornerstone of the council’s decision to finalize the re-drafted design for a roundabout, presented by Johnsons Engineering, after years of Council flip flopping over whether a roundabout or mast arm signalization was the right answer for the intersection. “Study after study tells us roundabouts are safer,” opined Councilor Berne Barton, in a comment that reflected the consensus of the Council.
Councilor Bill Kramer said an incredible amount of time and money had been wasted going back and forth on the subject. Still, he said, safety was his priority and a roundabout “will create a safer environment.”
Councilors agreed to finalize the design, which incorporates essential upgrades in utilities, and move forward with the bid process. The Public Works and Transportation Services Department will come back to City Council for approval of the construction contract sometime in May or June.
Funding for construction will come from the one cent sales tax, according to the City Manager Gary Young. So far, $287,505 has been spent on the designs for the mast arm and roundabout. A total of $1.5m for the intersection improvement is projected.
While the aim is to maintain a streamlined schedule to allow for the primary work and impacts during the off-season, consternation over a 10month construction time frame was expressed by at least one member of the public who called it both “shocking and frightening.”
Deputy City engineer Alison Bickett explained that although the time frame did appear very long, they would have a better picture once a contractor was onboard.
Links to the plans, presentation and history of this project can be found on the March 4 2026 Agenda under Old Business 13a.
