Bonita Springs voters have settled the question that's hung over the Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT) for more than a year: on August 18, they approved the $35 million bond referendum that clears the way for the city to buy its share of the old Seminole Gulf Railway corridor and begin building the trail. According to Lee County's official election results, voters backed the bonds 67.88% to 32.12%, out of 9,913 votes cast in the special election held alongside the August primary.
What the Vote Authorizes
The approved bond issue authorizes the City of Bonita Springs to issue up to $35 million in general obligation bonds, repaid through property taxes over as long as 30 years, to fund its roughly $28.6 million share of a $60 million regional purchase of 11.4 miles of inactive rail corridor. Estero and Collier County had already approved their own portions of the purchase, leaving Bonita Springs as the deciding vote on whether the full, three-jurisdiction trail gets built. With the "yes" vote now recorded by Lee County, all three pieces of the corridor purchase are in place.
What Happens Next
Passage of the bond moves the project from a ballot question to a construction timeline: city officials have said the next steps are closing on the corridor acquisition and beginning Phase 1 design and construction of the multi-use trail for runners, walkers and cyclists. The pending federal lawsuit filed by landowners along the corridor, who argue the rail-to-trail conversion can trigger compensation claims under railbanking law, is separate from the bond vote and remains unresolved. We'll continue to track it as it moves through the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
What This Means for Buyers and Sellers
Approval of the bond means homeowners with an average-value Bonita Springs home (city officials estimated around $441,000) should expect property taxes to rise somewhere between $45 and $88 a year, depending on the bond's repayment term. In exchange, both Bonita Springs and Estero gain a rare amenity that touches both cities: a dedicated, roughly 11-mile walking and cycling corridor connecting downtown Bonita Springs to Estero and, eventually, the broader Florida Gulf Coast Trail network. Amenities like this tend to become selling points over time, much as Riverside Park already is for homes near downtown Bonita. If you're weighing how proximity to the future BERT corridor might factor into a purchase or a listing, call us at 239.745.8903 or visit our Bonita Springs Realtor page to get started.
Vote totals are drawn from Lee County's official Election Night Reporting for the August 18, 2026 primary. Background on the referendum and the pending landowner lawsuit is drawn from earlier reporting by WGCU News and Florida Weekly; read that coverage at wgcu.org and floridaweekly.com. We'll continue to update our coverage of BERT as construction moves forward.