Naples or Fort Myers as Control City on I-75?

[roadman65]

I was just having a face to face meet with two users on this forum over the past couple of days.  We discussed many things including I-75 in Florida and many other roads around the nation.  Our conversation about I-75 went from the concrete removal of I-75 from Osprey to Tampa to Naples as a control city for SB I-75 from I-275 North and southward along the Gulf Coast of SW Florida.

I was wondering about what many feel about Naples being used being that it passes Fort Myers and Cape Coral that are both larger cities.  Even on parallel US 41 from Tampa southward Fort Myers is used on mileage signs and then Miami becomes focal point after Fort Myers with absolute no mention of Naples as a primary control point at all except maybe in Collier County on side roads.

Do you think that Naples should be retained as SB control city for I-75 Tampa and South, or do you think that city is lame and Fort Myers would be most appropriate for guide signs?  To me personally, I think what is done is done and for FDOT to spend tax dollars to change them all would be pointless.  However, Fort Myers would be more logical to use, as Naples is not that large and the only key feature is that it is the turning point of I-75 from N-S to E-W.  Larger metro areas are much better points.

What is everyone's take on this?

[WashuOtaku]

I believe Naples was used because it was at one point the south-end of I-75 before extending east to Miami.  Even today, it's the last city before going through the Everglades.

[realjd]

Control cities are often picked for reasons other than population count or how "lame" they are. Often major road intersections or changes of direction are control cities. Since I75 used to end in Naples and now does a hard 90 degree turn, Naples is a better choice IMO. Similarly, on I95, Daytona (with I4) and West Palm are the control cities, completely ignoring the Melbourne/Palm Bay Area even though we have a large population here.

[Alex]

Naples made sense when I-75 ended there. Fort Myers should be used now as the control city for south of Tampa as it is the regional service center of Southwest Florida. Naples, or a combination of Naples/Miami, can be used south of Ft. Myers.

Control cities are generally set in stone however, so Pascagoula and Bay St. Louis, once temporary end points of I-10 in Mississippi, persist to this day the way that Naples does.