A decision for safety, tourism, and zero-noise transportation in Southwest Florida
To the editor:
I have a modest proposal for Southwest Florida — modest in the sense that it only transforms hurricane evacuation, tourism, emergency response, economic development, transportation, and the entire future of Lee and Collier counties. Nothing major.
Bonita Springs just acquired a chunk of the Seminole Gulf rail corridor, and everyone is buzzing about turning it into a shaded trail. A lovely idea. Very peaceful. Very quiet. Very… slow.
But I have something better.
I propose the first elevated hurricane‑evacuation bullet train corridor in the United States — a 300‑mph, zero‑noise, solar‑powered, botanical‑garden‑shaded, butterfly‑friendly, job‑creating, tax‑revenue‑generating, emergency‑response‑housing, auto‑hauler‑evacuating, sunset‑dining, farmers‑market‑hosting, golf‑simulator‑equipped, storm‑proof rail system.
You know — the usual.
Now, before anyone panics, let me remind you: This is not fantasy. Fantasy was Hurricane La‑La, the storm that erased half of Hawaii and made meteorologists question their life choices. This is planning.
Let’s talk evacuation.
During Hurricane Ian, I‑75 turned into a 30‑mile parking lot. Gas stations ran dry. Families were stranded. Nursing homes couldn’t evacuate. Surge zones flooded. Cars floated like rubber ducks in a toddler’s bathtub.
Perhaps — just perhaps — we should consider something slightly more robust.
Like a bullet train.
Imagine this:
• Naples to Orlando in 45 minutes
• Orlando to Tampa in 17 minutes
• Tampa to Naples in 24 minutes
That’s faster than it takes to find a parking spot at Mercato.
And the best part? It’s silent. Zero decibels. No horns. No diesel. No rumbling. Just a polite wisp of air at 300 mph. It’s the quietest thing in Florida besides a Collier County Commission meeting at 8 a.m.
Under the elevated tracks, we build a linear economic district: botanical gardens, butterfly habitats, tropical nurseries, smoothie bars, coffee stands, farmers markets, golf simulators, driving ranges, retail kiosks, and shaded trails. It includes basically everything people already love — but elevated and storm‑proof.
This corridor creates thousands of construction jobs, thousands of permanent jobs, tens of thousands of indirect jobs, and hundreds of millions in new tax revenue. It is not a job creator. It is a job‑creation juggernaut on steroids.
Naples deserves a laugh. Naples deserves a vision. Naples deserves a future that doesn’t involve evacuating to a gas station.
A shaded trail is nice. A bullet train saves lives — and transforms Southwest Florida forever.
Richard M. Eckstein
Naples