The Sanibel Police Department has issued a “Heavy Traffic Advisory” for this afternoon and early evening, so the public can plan its travel accordingly.

An extremely high volume of vehicles have entered Sanibel today. As a result, officials expect heavy vehicular traffic on-island for the remainder of the day. Motorists should expect substantial traffic delays exiting Sanibel this afternoon and into the early evening. Heavy traffic is expected to continue for the remainder of the week as seasonal residents and visitors return and hurricane recovery work continues.

SPD Police Chief William Dalton urged everyone to “be patient.”

“Our number one priority is safety,” he said. “Please follow the direction of law enforcement personnel and, to reduce congestion, consider avoiding off-island directions of travel between 2 and 7:30 p.m.”

Motorists are encouraged to download the city’s free Sanibel Bound App on their phone, so that they can view and have immediate access to real-time traffic conditions. For more information or to view the city’s traffic cameras online, visit https://www.mysanibel.com/live-street-cams.