Lee County waives toll fees to Sanibel for next six Sundays, ending on Sept. 10
The message coming from the Lee County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday was loud and clear.
Let's support Sanibel.
Commissioners voted to waive tolls on the Sanibel Causeway for the next six Sundays in support of the “Savor the Shore” campaign organized by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. As Sanibel continues its recovery from the wide range of destruction Hurricane Ian unleashed on the island 10 months ago, it's a much-needed boost.
Tolls on the causeway will be waived each Sunday through Sept. 10. This does not apply to additional Lee County bridges.
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"You go on any of the Sanibel Facebook groups right now and people are showering the island with love," said John Lai, the president and CEO of the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce. "We need to remind them they can come and spend money and visit their favorite restaurant and retail stores."
Lai was at the county commissioners meeting in Fort Myers on Tuesday. He had written a letter to Lee County manager Dave Harner a month ago requesting if tolls could be waived one day a week for six weeks. The VCB's "Savor the Shore" campaign covers everyone from Bonita Springs to Boca Grande and it is something Lai whole-heartedly supports.
But he pointed out one big difference.
"It's not equitable for us because you can't drive to Sanibel without paying a toll — $6 per car if you have a transponder, $9 without a transponder, and if you have a rental car, it's more," Lai said. "Thankfully, it passed 5-0."
Lai said the county will take a $30,000 revenue hit for each toll-less Sunday.
Now people visiting Sanibel on the waived toll days can consider spending the money they save on tolls on food or retail, which is important to the island as it recovers. Lai appeared on The Weather Channel on Monday to talk about Sanibel's ongoing recovery and lessons learned.
During the interview Lai shared some numbers that put things in perspective at the 10-month mark since Ian hit:
There are currently 1,100 people living on the island. Before Ian there were 3,400 people living on the island, and that would swell to 7,000 during season.
35 restaurants are open. Before Ian that number was more than 210.
Lai underscored the significance of the waived tolls, saying it is the first time in 35 years he has lived here this has been approved for Sanibel other than state of emergencies and during COVID, but the lifting of the tolls was driven and subsidized by the Collaboratory of Southwest Florida.
The message is clear.
Let's support Sanibel.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Toll fees waived to Sanibel florida by lee county commission
