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To the editor:
About four or five years ago, I saw, on the city of Cape Coral's website, a video of their vision for the area just north of Bimini Basin which included Four Freedoms Park. I could not believe what I saw and I was appalled by it. The video showed how they would eliminate Four Freedoms Park and turn it into another one of their "destination" areas with residential and commercial buildings and boat docks. At the time, I was going to write to The Breeze to complain about this, but the city took down the video before I got the chance. I had hoped that there were too many complaints from residents about this "vision."
Then a few months ago, I read in The Breeze that the city manager said that they were looking into moving Four Freedoms Park somewhere else. This again upset me that the city is putting the interests of developers over that of its citizenry. The fact that they would even consider removing a beautiful public park that is on prime waterfront and let developers come in to add more to the population density in the southeast Cape is disgusting.
In last week's Breeze, there was an article about a meeting between businesses and the South Cape Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to discuss this relocation. The businesses said the park is "tired," run out of life, and only used by kids. What a bunch of crap!! Sure, kids use it, there is a preschool in the park and the city only last year renovated the playground area. I walk my dog there at least twice a week and also fish there, and I see a number of people who also frequent the park. The park also hosts art fairs, flower shows and music and food fests.
These "businesses" have an ulterior motive to redevelop Four Freedoms Park, make money and move on to their next project. Even the mayor is for relocating the park away from Bimini Basin so that this land can go to developers. The businesses and mayor say that parking is a problem in the south Cape. I suggest that the mayor stop approving large developments in the area and maybe the parking problem would not be increasing all the time.
It is not right to remove an existing city park at the expense of its citizens in order to satisfy the developers' need to make money. People buy homes and condos or rent apartments in areas of public parks because they have the benefit of the park nearby. This relocation is such a horrible idea and the city should drop it immediately. I hope a lot of our citizens feel the same way I do.
Ken Kendrick
Cape Coral