The much anticipated Bonita Springs River Park is now open, allowing public access to the Imperial River for fishing, kayaking and canoeing at this southernmost part of the Calusa Blueway. An eagle’s nest briefly slowed construction; however, the project was completed without incident and will in turn allow safer eagle viewing from the park rather than from the U.S. 41 bridge. Johnson Engineering and the City worked to overcome extreme budget cutbacks and creatively turned an existing Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau Grant into a buildable first phase of the park. Our team also played a part in the removal and mitigation of exotic vegetation, grading, water management, temporary vehicular access and stabilized parking areas. The park now offers a boardwalk and small floating boat dock, and is scheduled to include an interpretive facility and additional boardwalks throughout the waterfront ecosystems.
Laura is the director of the firm’s planning and landscape architecture group. She joined Johnson Engineering in 2004 to lead the planning services in the firm’s Collier County office and is now the Department Director for all planning and landscape architecture efforts for Johnson Engineering. Laura manages projects that involve development feasibility studies, governmental coordination, preparation and presentation of land use and zoning applications, site planning, master planning, and design. She has 20 years of professional experience in the planning field, in both the public and private sector. Prior to joining Johnson Engineering, Laura served five years as a planner for the City of Naples.
