Lots of things Happening at Sanibel's Bowman's Beach

Many visitors to Sanibel Island know of Bowman's Beach on the far west end because it does have great shelling.

For those not able to walk to the beach, it provides ample parking at a reasonable cost.

And for the family desiring clean and convenient facilities, Bowman's offers those as well.

So there are several reasons already present to choose this public beach.

And now there will be more.

Sanibel Island, famed for beaches and bike paths, soon will extend the latter asset to Bowman's Beach.

City leaders recently learned they’d scored a $200,000 matching grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection to help build a special half-mile-long, shared-use path to Bowman’s Beach Park.

Shared-use paths are off-limits to motor vehicles. They typically are paved, are wider than sidewalks and used by cyclists, pedestrians, dog-walkers, and people using wheelchairs and other forms of mobility assistance.

This new segment will take people across Sanibel-Captiva Road on a new crosswalk, and then onto a paved path that will parallel Bowman’s Beach Road before veering west, and ending near the park’s restrooms, playground and picnic area.

Patti Sousa, who serves on the Sanibel Bicycle Club’s board of directors, is delighted.
During busy times, Bowman’s Beach Road is crowded with drivers, pedestrians, cyclists “and kids on skateboards,” Sousa said, adding: “It’s quite narrow. There’s no wiggle room — no room for error.”

The path is but one enhancement scheduled for Bowman’s: With help from county bed tax dollars, a boardwalk and lookout in the park’s bayou area and a shade structure for its ADA-accessible Gulf observation deck also will go up in the year ahead. This should enhance the appeal of Bowman’s, already a contender for most-popular Sanibel beach.

According to the city of Sanibel website, the island already has more shared-use path — nearly 23 miles — than it does beachfront — 15.5 miles.

Bowman’s path is part of a master plan city leaders created in collaboration with the bicycle club, in 2009. The city began building its first bicycle and pedestrian-friendly path along the main artery — Periwinkle Way — in the mid-1970s.

In 2010, Sanibel became the first Southwest Florida community to be designated a “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists.

Adding to the bicycle paths “isn’t just for vacationers, it’s also great for the residents,” said Billy Kirkland, Sanibel resident and the owner of Billy’s Rentals, one of the island’s major rental-bike suppliers.