Public transportation can get you to a Minnesota Twins spring game at Hammond Stadium, but if you’re a Boston Red Sox fan, JetBlue Park is a field too far.
LeeTran officials say there are plans for a JetBlue route, but they’re years away from approval. John Manning, Lee County commission chairman, said the issue would come up at the group’s planning meeting April 2.
A LeeTran bus route runs next to the Twins stadium on Plantation Road, but no routes get closer than 1.4 miles of JetBlue. The closest LeeTran gets – bus Route 50 – is a stop at Treeline Avenue and Daniels Parkway. The buses then veer south to Southwest Florida International Airport.
Manning said transit is one of the more difficult issues for the county to deal with.
“We have to be very prudent with the dollars that we invest,” Manning said, noting a study of ridership needs to be made before new routes or stops are put into place.
Manning said he wasn’t sure if the issue arose during planning for JetBlue.
“I was not on the board at the time of planning,” he said.
Commissioner Brian Bigelow, chairman of the Transportation for the Disadvantaged Board, said during stadium planning it was known the site chosen was on a major artery and public transportation would be an issue.
“We failed to get the two together,” Bigelow said. “It is really unfortunate.”
Bigelow was encouraged the topic will come up at the next planning meeting.
“We’re terribly sorry for this oversight,” he said.