Sanibel Council Reviews Wildlife Crossing Signs, Traffic Calming at Legion Curve

by SC Publisher Shannen Hayes

Sanibel Conservation Officer Rachel Rainbolt last week presented the city council with three options for wildlife-crossing signs and traffic-calming strategies for Legion Curve on Sanibel-Captiva Road, a continuation of last month’s presentation on the wildlife mortality report.

Since 2022, the wildlife mortality report has documented more than 1,600 wildlife mortality events, including more than 1,200 native species. It underscores the ongoing need for clear, effective, and strategically placed alerts for motorists, Rainbolt said in her report.

Wildlife-crossing signage plays an important role in raising driver awareness, enhancing public safety, and supporting efforts to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions on Sanibel’s roads. Research indicates that well-placed signs can help focus driver attention on known wildlife-crossing areas or corridors, and are most effective when paired with additional strategies, such as traffic-calming measures or seasonal, high-visibility alerts.

The city council approved in November the deployment of wildlife crossing signs at four locations:
• Sanibel Captiva Road near Tarpon Bay Road, 4-way stop
• Sanibel Captiva Road at Rabbit Road
• Sanibel Captiva Road near Wulfert Road
• Tarpon Bay Road near the entrance to the Bailey Tract

Rainbolt presented three recommendations for wildlife crossing signs. The first was to reprint the “Please Slow Down For Us” sign previously created by local cartoonist Dave Horton; the second, general wildlife crossing signs; and the third, species-specific crossing signs. The council’s consensus was on the second and third recommendations.

The first recommended sign was designed by local cartoonist Dave Horton

The second option is general wildlife

The third option is species-specific signs

The wildlife crossing signage recommendations were based on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) guidelines for warning signs, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

In November, the council also directed city staff to research additional traffic-calming strategies for Sanibel Captiva Road at Legion Curve. Rainbolt presented three peer-reviewed strategies:

• Raised crosswalks and vertical deflection features consistently reduce vehicle speeds and increase driver scanning behavior (Elvik, 2001; Elvik et al., updated meta-analysis 2019).
• Rumble strips have been shown to increase driver attention and reduce crash risk by providing audible and tactile feedback (FHWA, 2011; Torbic et al., 2025).
• Integrated mitigation programs are more effective than single-measure approaches, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions by 40–54 percent on average (Rytwinski et al., 2016)

The council did not make any final decisions on the signs or traffic calming strategies. The city staff will design the wildlife crossing signs based on the council’s consensus and present them to the council before installation. The council will also discuss traffic calming strategies further in January.