BUILDING COMMUNITY LIGHT-RAIL MASS TRANSIT
AND BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PATHWAYS
Patrick Post Executive Director June 15, 2026
SW Florida Light-Rail Bike Pedestrian Pathway Organization
PO Box 2124 Naples, Florida 34106
patrickclaypost@outlook.com
www.swfloridalrbpp.org
239-738-0115
John W. Ketchum
Chairman, President and CEO NextEra Energy, Inc.
Chairman Florida Power & Light
700 Universe Blvd., Juno Beach, FL 33408
Dear Mr. Ketchum,
There is a tremendous need to create solar-powered light-rail community mass transit across the U.S. that could generate $billions in annual sales for NextEra Energy and FP&L. Utilizing your wide electric utility corridors to build these systems would provide your company with immense untapped revenue sources, and state and federal grants could be attained to fund the R&D costs. I propose starting by building solar-powered light-rail mass transit systems on electricity corridors in SW Florida, which would include wide bike and pedestrian pathways. Your company could sell power to run the trains and lease the land for tracks and pathways.
The tracks could be elevated with solar panels between the rails or ground level tracks. The systems will provide a better alternative to driving vehicles everywhere people need to go. They will be a much safer, faster, less expensive, and more enjoyable way to travel through our communities, while reducing air and water pollution and traffic congestion. Wide paved treelined bicycle and pedestrian pathways would be built on both sides of the light-rail tracks to create an attractive linear park-like natural setting. Water fountains, park benches, picnic tables, and restrooms facilities would also be available along this new infrastructure route.
Building these mass transit arteries, which are designed to include pathways for bicycle riders and people walking and running, will help to reduce roadway injuries and fatalities, and Florida has the highest bicycle/vehicle accident and death rate in America. This project will create cleaner, healthier, quieter, and more livable communities. I am working with the national non-profit groups Rails to Trails and Trust for Public Lands, and the local non-profit Friends of Bonita Estero Rail Trail to develop non-vehicle pathways. TPL and BERT are leading an effort to buy 11.4 miles of the old (1927) Seminole Gulf Railway corridor for $60 million to create a bicycle and pedestrian pathway. It runs from North Naples, through Bonita Springs and Estero, and ends at Estero Parkway. Coldwell Banker has strongly endorsed this project.
This light-rail mass transit system would be an infinitely better alternative to the approved plan to widen the six lane I-75 freeway in Collier and Lee County in SW Florida by adding two more lanes for 18.5 miles from Golden Gate Parkway to Corkscrew Road. The cost to widen the freeway to eight lanes is estimated at $578 million or $31.25 million a mile, and it will take several years to complete this project. These new transit systems with bicycle and pedestrian pathways would cost less than $31.25 million a mile to construct on electric utility corridors.
Each tram-style bus will hold 20 passengers and bikes would be allowed to be taken on board at the rear of the buses. There will be passenger transit stations constructed every 1-2 miles, with parking and bike rentals. This system will average 40mph and it will be similar in design to the Miami Metro-Mover Monorail (1986). Solar would be installed on the roofs of the transit stations and on the roofs of the buses. The system will also be partially powered by solar from ground mounted panels and power storage installed near the tracks. Considering oil prices are rising and availability is declining, now is the time to begin reinventing U.S. mass transit by utilizing clean, unlimited, and low-cost solar to create new efficient light-rail transit systems.
Bridges would be built over main roadways for ground level tracks so this transit system can operate continually regardless of traffic congestion. An elevated system could be created to run along wide highways with canals, such as Collier Blvd. from Marco Island to Immokalee Road (25 miles). Floating solar panels should be installed on the canal waterways with 5000+ panels per mile and they could generate $250,000+ annually in electricity to power the trains. This elevated system could then continue north 20 miles to SW Florida International Airport and travel north an additional 25 miles to the futuristic Solar City Babcock Ranch = 70 miles.
Developing this transit system with bicycle and pedestrian pathways will revitalize our cities and increase real estate values by 3-7% for the homes and businesses that are located near the system. This will then raise property tax revenues for city and county governments, which will help to pay for building this project. Implementing this cost-effective community transit system would reduce vehicle traffic enough to eliminate the need to widen the I-75 freeway!
Building this transit system will help in encouraging the construction of desperately needed multi-family workforce housing near the light-rail for firefighters, police, teachers, and nurses to rent, lease, or purchase. These critical workers are often priced out of the local housing market, and they usually need to drive their vehicles long distances to commute to work and home. The need for safer and abundant bike and pedestrian pathways and more affordable workforce housing are two of the biggest issues facing Florida’s cities and most of America.
Developing this project in SW Florida will change our past misguided direction of focusing primarily on vehicles and begin focusing on what is truly better for most people by providing healthier quality-of-life alternatives to driving vehicles throughout our communities. I have spoken with Tesla Inc. in the past about creating this solar powered light-rail train project in SW Florida, and a partnership with this visionary company would ensure it becomes a reality.
There is another alternative to widening the I-75 freeway to eight lanes for 18.5 miles costing $578 million. This would be to build 200 miles of bike and pedestrian pathways costing less than $3 million a mile. This system would improve our cities immensely by reducing traffic congestion, while promoting business and workforce housing development, and providing places for our citizens and tourists to ride bikes, run, walk, and enjoy the outdoors. This will increase the health, wellness, and quality of life of everyone living in, and visiting SW Florida, and it will increase tourism. For too long, we have focused on how to add more vehicles to our already crowded roadways. A better choice would be to significantly expand park-like bicycle and pedestrian pathways to provide more enjoyable and healthy alternatives to driving. This has been overlooked for decades. Now is the time to reinvent our increasingly crowded cities!
I strongly believe that NextEra Energy and FP&L are in a unique position to begin developing these systems in SW Florida. The first step could start by becoming involved with the local 11.4-mile Friends of Bonita Estero Rail Trail project, which has been approved to include future rail service. Your involvement will provide your company with opportunities to bury power cables along the entire route. This 1927 rail corridor has been abandoned for over fifty years when Amtrak cancelled passenger rail service to downtown Naples in 1972. Developing this solar-powered light-rail revitalization project in SW Florida, with leadership and support from NextEra Energy and FP&L, will set a new high standard for mass transit development in America. We can then begin to compete with Europe and Asia in designing and building safe, fast, reliable, and efficient solar-powered public transportation systems throughout the U.S.
This 11.4-mile rail corridor averages 100 feet wide and it is owned by Seminole Gulf Railway. They have agreed to sell it to Trust for Public Lands and Friends of BERT for $60 million. To support the project, the Village of Estero has recently agreed to purchase 4.1 miles of the corridor for $19.8 million, and Collier County has agreed to buy 1.5 miles for $11.6 million. Bonita Springs plans to become involved by purchasing 5.8 miles of corridor for $28.6 million. They are asking voters in August to approve a property tax increase equaling an average of $50 annually to purchase the railway section that runs through their city. The total is $60 million for 11.4 miles of track. After the land purchase is finalized, then the pathway work can begin.
The cost to build the pathway is less than $3 million a mile, plus the cost to construct bridges over roadways. The total cost to build this 11.4-mile pathway with bridges is $50-$60 million. If light-rail transit is added to the corridor, it should be extended one mile east from the north end of the corridor on Estero Pkwy, to pass over the I-75 freeway and connect to Hertz Arena. It could then head north and parallel the freeway for ten miles along Ben Hill Griffin Pkwy to Florida Gulf Coast University and SW Florida International Airport. Extending the transit route to the airport will help fill the train cars with passengers, and the light-rail could be expanded another 25 miles to Babcock Ranch. This is a perfect time to start this project because several large residential and commercial developments have been approved near this railway route.
The population in Collier and Lee County has grown from 200,000 in 1975 to 1.25 million in 2025. During the next 50 years our population is expected to double to 2.5 million. We need visionary thinking to recognize that planning from the past cannot apply to intelligent future development. We must focus on building mass transit and bicycle and pedestrian pathways, instead of building more roads and freeways. The $578 million in funding approved to widen the I-75 freeway for 18.5 miles should be used instead to construct light-rail and pathways on the old Seminole Gulf Railway corridor and continue this system to the airport equaling a total of 22 miles. This is a better use of taxpayer funding, and it will significantly reduce I-75 traffic! Light-rail and pathways can also be extended ten miles south to Naples along the old railway corridor on Goodlette-Frank Road, and then travel ten miles SE on Highway 41 to Collier Blvd.
I look forward to your response to my proposals.
Kind regards,
Patrick Post
