Chamber Announces Extensions on Toll-Free Causeway Travel

provided to The Santiva Chronicle

Pending approval from the Lee Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on Sep. 5, the SanCap Chamber announces a three-day extension to the Savor SanCap toll abatement program currently running for travel across the Sanibel Causeway. The extension will be made possible by a donation from Collabatory, formerly the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

“We saw immediate, heartening success the day the program opened on Sunday, Aug. 6, which led us to urge the county to add more toll-free days,” said John Lai, chamber president and CEO. “Businesses and attractions reported visitor increases of 25 to 200 percent that day, and the causeway reached 6,000 incoming vehicles — the first Sunday since Hurricane Ian where numbers matched last year’s.”

In conjunction with the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau’s (VCB) six-week Savor the Shore promotion, BOCC originally waived tolls on the bridge for six Sundays from Aug. 6 to Sep. 10. The extension under consideration will add Sunday, Sep. 17; Saturday, Sep. 23; and Sunday, Sep. 24 to the toll-free schedule. Sep. 23 and 24 abatements take into consideration the VCB Island Hopper Songwriter Fest’s two-day Captiva Island run.

Tolls are waived midnight to midnight on the remaining SanCap Savor days, which still include Aug. 13, 20, and 27 and Sep. 3 and 10. The extension brings the total toll-free days remaining to eight. Causeway tolls usually run $6 for vehicles without transponders. Those with discount transponders also benefit from the abatement.

“Our goal was to bring more people across the bay during the remaining days of summer to support the businesses and attractions suffering from hurricane recovery during the slowest part of the year,” said Lai. “It’s so gratifying when a vision of many actually works! So, we’re keeping our foot on the gas to make the most of the foresight of the county, city of Sanibel, and Collaboratory. Also, we thank Lamar Advertising for the donation of seven billboards throughout the county advertising toll-free Sundays.”

ABOUT SANIBEL & CAPTIVA ISLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting the prosperity of its members and preserving the quality of life of our community. The Chamber plays a key role in facilitating communication and cooperation between business, residents, and government to enhance the economic health of the islands. Its website, sanibel-captiva.org, receives over 1.3 million visits per year. For more information about the chamber, visit sanibel-captiva.org or contact John Lai, president and CEO, at 239-472-2348 or John@sanibel-captiva.org.