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| The Sunday Brief · No. 001 |
May 10, 2026 |
What's being built · What it means
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Happy Mother's Day, Cape. Lane closures start tomorrow, Ian cleanup just started, and Jaycee Park has a new front door. Twenty-two days until hurricane season. Three minutes, ready when you are.
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Six lanes, starting tomorrow. Plan accordingly.
The week starts with construction. Beginning Monday, lane closures roll out on Cape Coral Parkway East between Southeast 14th Avenue and Coronado Boulevard, the kickoff to a project that will widen the corridor to six continuous lanes between Coronado and Del Prado. Crews work the off-peak window, 9 AM to 3:30 PM, and at least two lanes stay open in each direction the entire time. The job also includes resurfacing, new signal heads at nine intersections, and rewiring eight signalized crossings between Chiquita and Del Prado.
The bigger picture: this is the third major piece of the South Cape rebuild moving simultaneously. The Cove at 47th and Bimini Square garages come online this year, adding more than 300 new parking spaces. A new Cape Coral Bridge to College Parkway breaks ground in 2028. Translation: the next twenty-four months are going to feel chaotic, but the Cape Coral Parkway you complain about today is being engineered out of existence.
What it means for you this week: build five extra minutes into anything that crosses Cape Coral Parkway East between Coronado and Del Prado. The closures only run 9 AM to 3:30 PM, so early morning and evening commutes should hold. Lunch runs are the casualty.
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Trash trucks roll early through summer. Residential pickup now starts at 5 AM through September 30. Cans need to be at the curb the night before if you want to count on collection. The next bulk and household chemical drop-off lands in September. |
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Council greenlit a Del Prado dental office grant. Wednesday's vote: a $221,914 Business Infrastructure Grant for a 5,300-square-foot building at 3210 Del Prado Blvd. S. About 3,100 square feet becomes a new dental office; the rest is leasable commercial space. Total construction cost: $2.2 million. |
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Six boats burned at Calusa Island. A fire broke out May 1 at 3:45 PM near Jug Creek Marina in Bokeelia. Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District responded; six boats were lost. Cause is still under investigation. Reminder for boat owners: marine insurance is not the same thing as hurricane coverage. Check both before June 1. |
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Old Bridge Marina cleanup, finally. Almost four years after Hurricane Ian flipped a fleet of boats upside down at the marina near the Edison Bridge, cleanup officially began Wednesday. The optics are not great. The lesson is sharper: storm cleanup runs on a timeline measured in years, not months. |
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22
Days
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Hurricane Season Countdown
Colorado State's first 2026 forecast calls the Atlantic season somewhat below average: 13 named storms, six hurricanes, two majors, with a developing El Niño doing the heavy lifting. Florida Peninsula odds for a major landfall sit at 15%, against the long-term 21% average. Below average is not zero. Mark your calendar: the City's free Hurricane Expo runs Saturday, May 30, 9 AM to 1 PM at the German American Club. This week's homework: locate your insurance policy and read the wind and flood deductibles out loud.
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Jaycee Park, the morning after
The Grand Reopening was Saturday at 4 PM, with live music, a movie under the stars, and free food. If you missed it, the park is yours all week. The pier is back. The new playground is back. The pavilions are back. The view of the Caloosahatchee at sunset is unchanged because nothing could improve on it. Bring a chair, a cold drink, and somebody who hasn't seen it since before Ian.
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★ Editor's Pick · Not a sponsor
Nice Guys Pints & Pies
1404 Cape Coral Pkwy E · Tuesday to Sunday, 4 PM to 1:30 AM
Pizza is the headline (the Black Gold if you trust me, the Truffle Shuffle if you don't trust me yet), but the right opening move is the tater tots with a flight of housemade sauces. Greg and Jovana have been doing this since 2013. The pinball is real, the cocktails are made by people who care, and the room glows red in a way that flatters everybody.
Tell them The Cape Coral Digest sent you. They might ask: Who?!
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That's it for Sunday. See you next week, same time, same place. Hit reply and tell me what you want covered.
Yours,
Your Cape Coral Neighbor
The Cape Coral Digest
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P.S. If you read this in time and still need a Mother's Day move, Sunsplash gets moms in free with a paying child. Run, don't walk.
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What's being built · What it means
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