It happens every year…you’ve made it to the islands for your visit to Paradise, but you feel like you’re going nowhere. You’re stuck with nowhere to turn. You are…in Sanibel traffic, likely during rush hour.
Anyone who has lived here or visited often enough know it takes a certain kind of timing in when to drive on to Sanibel and when to drive off in the winter time. Not only do we have part-time residents (“snowbirds”) and visitors in the winter months, but also commuters who live on the mainland and work on the islands. Not to mention the many people who just want to get away for the day. The mid-morning traffic slows down in the westbound lane of Periwinkle Way and can stretch all the way across the Causeway. And the evening commute (between 3 and 6 pm) has everyone East Bound and Down Periwinkle with no traffic lights, only a few traffic control officers in key intersections.
A few days per year, traffic has literally stretched from the Causeway all the way down to the end of Periwinkle, continuing down Tarpon Bay Road and finishing a mile down Sanibel-Captiva Road or West Gulf Drive. One year, a restaurant who shall remain nameless took advantage by having someone hold a sign saying, “1 HOUR TO CAUSEWAY. TURN HERE…1 MIN TO YUM!”
But there is hope for those Trapped in Paradise Traffic. The City of Sanibel has established a series of traffic cams in various locations and livestream on their website (mysanibel.com). This can be downloaded to your phone on a free app called Sanibel Bound. So before you venture forth, check the roads for the best route available. And remember…nothing beats using the bike paths (on bicycles…just being specific).
Book Direct and Save money…Download Sanibel Bound and Save time.