FORT MYERS, Fla. (WSVN) — Someone in Fort Myers took matters into their own hands when they planted a tree in a pothole to protest the roadway’s poor conditions.
Area residents were surprised to find the outlandish sight in the middle of the road earlier this weekend.
“They literally put a whole tree in the middle of the road,” said a resident.
“I pulled up, and I’m like, ‘Is that really a tree in the middle of the road?'” said Fort Myers resident John Hulker.
“I took two takes. I was like, ‘What? What? What is this?'” said local business owner Scott Shine.
“Me and my wife started instantly laughing,” said area resident Nicholas Angus.
But the tree is no laughing matter, and neither is the pothole where it’s growing.
Cars driving down this road have to either veer left or right to get around the tree — just like they have to do if they see the pothole in time.
“The tree is actually kind of making it harder to get around the next pothole that’s right next to it,” said Angus, “because I usually just drive over the pothole, but now that there’s a big tree, you can’t drive through a big tree.”
Even in the rain, those responsible for planting the tree made sure it stayed in place so that their message gets through: it’s time to fix the potholes on this street.
“I see a lot of cars come through here, and they bottom out,” said Shine. “You know, you hear this big bang, and somebody hit a hole.”
“It messes up your tire, messes up the rim, and then it basically messes up your day,” said Cape Coral resident Charlie Lopez.
Because this street is private, Lee County officials said they’re not responsible. It’s up to the private owner or owners to fix the problem.
It remains unknown who planted the tree, but area residents said they appreciate the effort.
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