Lee County, in cooperation with the City of Fort Myers, Reconnecting Lee County, and Florida Gulf Coast University's Center for Public and Social Policy is pleased to announce the “Creating Better Places” design competition. We are challenging local citizens and design professionals to rethink recent development patterns in Lee County and help visualize better prototypes for our future.

This competition will compare various transit-oriented designs for a specific site in the City of Fort Myers near Terry Park with access to potential light rail service. Our purpose is to solicit creative ideas and to educate residents, policy-makers, and the development community about better alternatives for the physical form of our community.

Transit-oriented design (TOD) is about creating attractive, walkable, sustainable communities that allow residents to have housing and transportation choices and to live convenient, affordable, pleasant lives – with places for children to learn and play, for adults to work and socialize, and for retirees to remain in vibrant neighborhoods.

Transit-oriented developments are typically defined as higher density, mixed-use development within walking distance – up to a half-mile – of existing or future transit stations. The Center for Transit-Oriented Development suggests that development projects should also:

• Provide a rich mix of housing, shopping, and transportation choices.
• Make it possible for people to walk and bike and use public transportation in addition to driving their own cars.
• Minimize the need for long car trips for everyday needs.
• Create a strong sense of place.

Transit oriented development maximizes access to and promotes the use of public transportation in settings designed to be walkable and neighborhood-friendly. Transit oriented development neighborhoods foster creation of community focal points. These community focal points encourage people to walk and avoid driving for every trip. Increased pedestrian activity leads to great health benefits from increased physical activity and increased social interaction with others. Transit oriented developments can become a source of pride for communities and lead to significant reinvestment and beautification.

This site was selected to illustrate Transit oriented development potential for this competition because it is located along a rail line and a major automobile corridor (State Route 80). It is close to the downtown Fort Myers River District, Terry Park, and the Caloosahatchee River. There is a substantial amount of pedestrian and bicycle activity in the vicinity due to existing residential density. Commercial property in the area is currently underutilized, with many vacant storefronts and properties for sale. For the purposes of this competition, we must assume the site is the location of a transit stop. Generally, transit oriented developments are located within a one-quarter mile radius of a transit stop. This is the reason for including the one-quarter mile radius around the selected site.