Naples City Council exploring underground parking to reduce downtown traffic.

Naples City Council is considering subterranean parking, according to August 16th meeting notes.

Since June, the city’s administration has discussed this plan to reduce traffic in the downtown area twice, according to a recent article by Ryan Arbogast of NBC2.

“You are effectively approving underground bathtubs with hazardous substances below multi-story developments and thousands of people,” said Joan Fiore, a Naples resident who spoke at the city council meeting Wednesday.

Fiore stated to the council that recent hurricanes, such as Hurricane Ian, had demonstrated the potential hazard of underground facilities.

“There will be cars on fire underneath these buildings, as we all know saltwater starts fires,” Fiore said in closing.

Before devoting time and resources to a new project, several locals requested that the municipal council give priority to ongoing ones.

“When there is a disaster, I would urge you to focus on things like rebuilding the pier and getting beach accesses open. What will the cost be in terms of money? I don’t think it’s a good use of resources,” said Falconer Jones of Falcon Design Inc.

It is merely a topic of discussion; no decisions about city policy have been made.

The original article can be found on NBC2.