Getting Around Cape Coral

Finding your way around the city of Cape Coral can be difficult if you don’t know how the city is laid out. But once it is understood, getting lost will be a thing of the past.

Cape Coral is divided into four quadrants: SE, SW, NE and NW. The majority of street addresses are identified with these prefixes. Santa Barbara Boulevard and Hancock Bridge Parkway/Embers Parkway are the center of the city. Santa Barbara is the east/west dividing line. Hancock Bridge Parkway/Embers Parkway is the north/south dividing line. The center of the city is where the two roads intersect. The numbering system of the streets starts at the center of the city. Address numbers grow larger as one moves farther away from the center.

Southward
Starting at the center of the city and moving southward in the SW and SE quadrants, the street numbers begin at one and continue until 59th Terrace or to the river.

Northward
Moving to the NW and NE quadrants of the city the numbering system also starts with one and continues northward to 48th Terrace or to the city limits. Next notice that when moving either southward or northward the roads run east and west. These east/west roads are called Parkways, Streets, Terraces, or Lanes. You will find that street and terrace repeat themselves in rotation while keeping the same road number. And there also will be an occasional parkway or lane used intermittently in naming the road types that run east and west.

Westward
Address numbers grow larger as one moves farther away from the center. Starting at the center of the city and moving westward in the NW and SW quadquadrants the street numbers begin at one and continue until 47th Avenue or to Matlacha Pass.

Eastward
Moving to the NE and SE quadrants of the city the numbering system also starts with one and continues eastward to 26th Place or to the Caloosahatchee River. Next notice that when moving either eastward or westward all Boulevards, Courts, Places and Avenues run North and South. You will find that Place and Avenue repeat themselves in rotation while keeping the same road numbers. And there will also be an occasional Boulevard or Court used intermittently in naming the road types that run North and South.

Helpful Hints:
Business and house numbers coincide with the bisecting street number. The first number of an address indicates the intersecting road it is closest to, and the second indicates the house number in that block.

For example 310 NE 6th is located in the NE quadrant of the city, approximately 12 streets to the north of the center. It is located near the intersection of NE 3rd Avenue and NE 6th Street. When traveling East on NE 6th Street the property address — 310 will be found on the right side of the street. Even numbers are assigned to the South and West sides of roads; Odd numbers are assigned to North and East sides of roads.

Another example is 2217 SW 52nd Street. It is located in the SW quadrant of the city, approximately 100 streets southwest of the center of the city. It is near the intersection of SW 52nd Street and SW 22nd Place. When traveling west on SW 52nd Street, the address — 2217 will be found on the right side of the street. Streets without numbers like Dolphin and Bayview, for example, are typically located in the downtown area or in the Yacht Club area of the Cape. However, there are some streets with names located outside of the downtown area, mostly in subdivisions.

Streets with names usually are followed by Boulevard or Parkway designation such as Cape Coral Parkway or Santa Barbara Boulevard.

Cape Coral has over 400 miles of canals, 27 miles of shoreline and is 114 square miles. Think of the road layout system of the city as a large grid, with an occasional canal that gets in the way. The grid is basic mathematics and easy to follow by using the numbering system described. But it’s always good to carry a Cape Coral map and check out the location before leaving. You can get there from here and quicker by following these simple steps.

Santa Barbara Boulevard and Hancock Bridge Parkway/Embers Parkway are the center of the city. Santa Barbara is the east-west dividing line. Hancock Bridge Parkway/Embers Parkway is the northsouth dividing line. The center of the city is where the two roads intersect.

Source: City of Cape Coral