1. Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.org I Business Currents I JULY 2007
a p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e g r e a t e r n a p l e s c h a m b e r o f c o m m e r c e
J u L Y 2 0 0 7
turn your
website into
a marketing
tool
page 18
how to get
and keep
good
employees
page 24
The Future
of I-75
special feature
BusinessCurrentsw w w . n a p l e s c h a m b e r . o r g

2. 12 JULY 2007 I Business Currents I Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.org12 JULY 2007 I BusIness Currents I Visit Us OnLine at www.napLeschamber.Org
The Future of
I-75
By Rob Esmond
How many lanes are needed,
by when, and who will pay?

3. Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.org I Business Currents I JULY 2007 13Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.Org I BusIness Currents I JUlY 2007 13
)(Cover Story
J
ust as clear, unclogged arteries are vital to
the overall health of the human body, clear,
unclogged roads are vital to the economic health
of any region. These important streets and
highways link communities and cities together,
promote the flow of goods and services among
businesses, and allow the area’s workforce to commute
to and from their jobs.
In Lee and Collier Counties, Interstate 75 is
the vital north-south
arterythatisreliedupon
by tens of thousands
of motorists every day.
Statistics show that
in addition to freight
trucks, 85 percent of the
trips on I-75 are made
by local commuters,
and 15 percent by long-
distance travelers.
As anyone who
travels I-75 on a regular
basis can attest, the
health of this artery is
not always good. Even
during the off-season,
the Interstate can experience traffic congestion and
slow driving speeds. One bad accident can bring traffic
to a standstill for hours, and force cars and trucks to
divert to other roads, causing additional traffic jams.
“I-75 is the transportation aorta of this
community,” says Jeff Fridkin of Grant, Fridkin,
Pearson, Athan Crown, P.A., and the chairman of
the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce’s board of
directors. “When it clogs, it brings our entire region to
a halt. We must take all steps necessary to allow the
free-flow of this essential transportation artery.”
In some respects, Southwest Florida is a
victim of its own success. The area’s warm weather,
beautiful beaches, outdoor activities, and quality of life
have been attracting people in huge numbers in recent
years. According to the United States Census Bureau,
the Cape Coral/Fort Myers metropolitan area was
the third-fastest growing in the nation from April
2000 to July 2006, with a population increase of
29.6 percent. The Naples/Marco Island was ranked
seventh in the nation, with an increase of 25.2
percent.
These trends will continue well into the
foreseeable future, according to a recent population
study by The University of Florida’s Bureau
of Economic and
Business Research.
It predicts that by
2010, Lee and Collier
County’s population
will grow by 16
percent. In the 20-
year period between
2010 and 2030,
projections indicate
the population of Lee
County will increase
from 573,000 to
852,000 people, while
Collier County will
grow from 363,000 to
599,000.
These new residents will rely on the
existing roads just as motorists do today, and
contribute to ever-increasing traffic counts.
Recent surveys have shown that on the busiest
days, drivers currently make 86,000 trips on I-75.
That figure is expected to increase to over 125,000
trips per day by 2015 on the section of highway
from Southwest Florida International Airport to
Immokalee Road. By 2030, an estimated 140,000 to
144,000 trips are expected between Bonita Beach
Road and Corkscrew Road, which will overwhelm
the capacity of a six-lane highway.
It’s also becoming more and more
dangerous to travel on I-75. Annual crash data
reveals that in the five-year period from 2001 to
2005, accidents increased from 345 to 441, and

4. 14 JULY 2007 I Business Currents I Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.org14 JULY 2007 I BusIness Currents I Visit Us OnLine at www.napLeschamber.Org
cover story
fatalities rose from 16 to 21.
One nightmare scenario involves traffic backed
up on I-75 during an emergency situation, such as a
hurricane that is forecast to hit Southwest Florida.
Ideally, it currently takes 72 hours for a complete
evacuation of Collier County, according to Chief Tom
Storrar, task force chief of the Southwest Florida
Regional Domestic Security Task Force. Given the
unpredictability of the storms, however, there can be
as little as 48 hours to get people out of the path of the
storm.
“The goal for evacuation is to have everyone
off the road at the onset of tropical storm force winds
arriving in Collier County,” Storrar says. “If you need 72
hours to evacuate the county and only 48 hours is given
to evacuate, we have a problem.”
Police, firefighters, and emergency medical
personnel are all subject to heavy traffic on I-75, which
can delay response times when these critical services are
needed.
“I travel from Bonita Beach Road to SR 951 every
day,” says J. Michael Mastej, chief executive officer of
the new Physicians Regional Medical Center on Collier
Boulevard. “The smallest altercation creates havoc. My
frustration on long commutes home is one thing; loss of
lives is a whole different story.”
The Interstate is also vital to bring these
caregivers to their jobs each day, along with thousands
of workers is other occupations.
“I-75 is traveled daily by one quarter of our
hospital employees who commute between Collier and
Lee Counties,” says Geoffrey D. Moebius, chief executive
officer of Physicians Regional Medical Center - Pine
Ridge. “This fact is a small piece of the big picture when
you consider the importance that one road has over our
region’s economic growth and well-being.”
Some relief to the overcrowding on I-75 has
begun. A plan approved by the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) in 2003 called for one additional
lane to be added in each direction to a 30-mile stretch
of highway from Golden
Gate Parkway to Colonial
Boulevard. This initial
phase,budgetedtocost$470
million in State and Federal
funds, started in May.
By the time
the construction of
these additional lanes is
completed in late 2010, however, traffic studies suggest
that the impact will be minimal. Service on I-75 in this
area is projected to be rated at Level E, which is well
below regionally acceptable standards. Even with the
new lanes, motorists will still continue to experience
delays and reduced speeds.
Once the first two lanes are complete, future
phases of the FDOT plan call for additional widening of
I-75 to ten lanes in portions of Collier and Lee Counties, including both
general purpose lanes and lanes designated for express traffic.
However, state and federal government officials have indicated
that conventional funding for these additional lanes will not be available
until after 2030. Given that the population of Southwest Florida is
projected to reach 1.5 million by then, it is becoming increasingly clear to
local government officials, business leaders, and citizens that solutions
will need to be found to address the situation much sooner than that.
“We must resist the tendency to delay improvements when we
know they will cost more later,” says Dave Weston, chair of the Collier
Business Political Action Committee, a coalition sponsored by Collier
Building Industry Association, Naples Area Board of Realtors, and The
Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. “We must insist our elected
officials be forward thinking and take aggressive steps to provide a
functioning I-75.”
Currently, some of Southwest Florida’s most vigorous debates
swirl around the most effective methods of widening I-75, the timing
of the projects, and who should pay for them. One organization that
has been studying the problem is the Southwest Florida Expressway
Authority (SWFEA), which was created in June 2005 when Governor
Jeb Bush signed legislation sponsored by State Rep. Mike Davis,
R-Naples. SWFEA is comprised of seven voting members from Lee and
Collier Counties, and one non-voting member, the Florida Department
of Transportation District One Secretary.
According to a statement released by SWFEA, the organization

5. Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.org I Business Currents I JULY 2007 15Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.Org I BusIness Currents I JUlY 2007 15
was created “with the sole purpose of advancing construction of
additional tolled lanes on I-75 in Collier and Lee Counties.” It
joined with the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) on a study of
adding lanes to expand I-75, some of which would be tolled.
The study concluded that “the required configuration
to generate enough toll revenue to finance and best serve future
traffic is four, general-purpose (non-tolled) lanes on
theoutside,andsixtolledexpresslanesontheinside.
This configuration will allow drivers a choice to
travel in the four general purpose (non-tolled) lanes
or pay a toll to travel in the six express lanes. The
express lanes will also help relieve traffic congestion
in the general purpose lanes.”
Under the SWFEA plan, tolls would
be collected electronically, as they are on other
highways in Florida. There would be no tollbooths
on the Interstate.
One idea being studied by SWFEA and FTE
involves expanding the busiest section of I-75, from
Immokalee Road to Alico Road, to ten lanes by 2015. The two
new inside lanes could be tolled as soon as they are completed,
whichwouldgeneratefinancestoallowtheSWFEAtoconstruct
the additional four lanes in this section.
Other suggestions include using portions of the toll
revenue to expand I-75 to six lanes from Colonial Boulevard to
SR 80, improve the Daniels Parkway interchange, and provide
for “quick response” tow trucks to deal with traffic accidents
in any lane.
While the SWFEA has made recommendations
to improve I-75, its board has not yet made any decisions or
endorsed any of them. However, the organization concluded
that “unless some alternative funding source such
as tolls is used, Southwest Florida motorists will
experience unacceptable congestion and delays on
I-75 for at least two decades.”
Another organization which is dedicated
to finding new funding sources and creative
solutions to local traffic problems is the Southwest
Florida Transportation Initiative (SWFTI), a
public-private partnership composed of local
business and community members. The group,
which has been endorsed by the Southwest
Florida Regional Planning Council, area chambers
of commerce, economic development councils and
industry associations, is advocating the expansion of I-75 to six
lanes throughout Southwest Florida.
SWFTIhasworkedwithtransportationprofessionals,
and has researched the efforts of similar private sector
initiatives in high growth areas statewide. Its members are
working to insure that key leaders in the local, state, and
“
We must resist the tendency to delay
improvements when we know they will
cost more later,” says Dave Weston, chair of the
Collier Business Political Action Committee, a
coalition sponsored by Collier Building Industry
Association, Naples Area Board of Realtors,
and The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
“We must insist our elected officials be forward
thinking and take aggressive steps
to provide a functioning I-75.
“
cover story
fatalities rose from 16 to 21.
One nightmare scenario involves traffic backed
up on I-75 during an emergency situation, such as a
hurricane that is forecast to hit Southwest Florida.
Ideally, it currently takes 72 hours for a complete
evacuation of Collier County, according to Chief Tom
Storrar, task force chief of the Southwest Florida
Regional Domestic Security Task Force. Given the
unpredictability of the storms, however, there can be
as little as 48 hours to get people out of the path of the
storm.
“The goal for evacuation is to have everyone
off the road at the onset of tropical storm force winds
arriving in Collier County,” Storrar says. “If you need 72
hours to evacuate the county and only 48 hours is given
to evacuate, we have a problem.”
Police, firefighters, and emergency medical
personnel are all subject to heavy traffic on I-75, which
can delay response times when these critical services are
needed.

6. 16 JULY 2007 I Business Currents I Visit Us Online at www.napleschamber.org16 JULY 2007 I BusIness Currents I Visit Us OnLine at www.napLeschamber.Org
federal government are kept
up to date about the region’s
transportation needs.
Eachoftheproposed
solutions for funding and
building additional lanes on
I-75 in Southwest Florida is
controversial. Each plan has
its supporters and critics in
localgovernment,thebusiness
community, and among
residents. Yet each group
recognizes the importance of
this vital roadway, and the
need to take action on this
issue. Waiting for others to take the lead
is not a viable option. Difficult decisions
will need to be made in the near future
– decisions that will affect Southwest
Florida for decades to come.
“To hide behind the argument
that fixing the problem is a federal or state
responsibility is simply not acceptable,”
says Richard Botthoff, executive director
of the Regional Business Alliance. “This is
a regional problem that affects all of our
health, safety and financial well being.
Let’s continue to explore all options on
solutions together.”
Sources: Southwest Florida Expressway
Authority (SWFEA); Southwest Florida
Transportation Initiative (SWFTI)
Rob Esmond is a freelance writer living in Naples.
He has worked in marketing and public relations
positionsforavarietyoflocalbusinessesincluding
the Community Foundation of Collier County,
Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation,
the Economic Development Council of Collier
County, and Comcast Cable. Most recently he
servedaseditorofBusinessToBusinessMagazine
at the Naples Daily News
HELPING YOU ACHIEVE PEACE OF MIND
THROUGH PLANNED FINANCIAL SECURITY
Focusing on the needs of
Business Owners Professionals
Estate and Financial Planning
Retirement Income Planning
Employee Benefit Plans
Fee Based Investment Advisory Services
Life, Health, Disability Long Term Care Insurance
Michael J. Sinclair, CLU, ChFC
Registered Investment Advisor
~ Serving Naples and Marco Island Since 1988 ~
Sinclair Financial Group
NEWGATE CENTER
(239) 435-1202
w w w . s i n c l a i r - f i n a n c i a l . c o m