TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF TRAIL PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA FLORIDA PLANNING CONFERENCE 2023 GRAND 6, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
TRAILS TALES THE
MEET YOUR PANEL
Moderator
Wiatt Bowers, AICP Atkins
Panelist
Wade Reynolds, AICP
Hillsborough TPO
Panelist
Kay Ehas
Groundwork Jacksonville
Panelist Rebecca Dennis, AICP Atkins
Panelist Colin Moore
City of Neptune Beach
Panelist Maria Bendfeldt Plusurbia
SESSION TOPICS
Public Perception of Trails Levels of Trail Planning Planning for Urban Trails
Trails for Recreation vs. Transportation Funding & Implementation Open Discussion
DISCUSSION TOPIC: PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF TRAILS
TRAILS AREN’T ALWAYS POPULAR
NIMBY = Not In My Backyard
BANANA = Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone
CAVE People = Citizens Against Virtually Everything ….and now….
CARE = Citizens Against Rural Extinction
EXISTING TRAILS IN SUBURBAN PASCO COUNTY
IN PASCO COUNTY
ORANGE BELT TRAIL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
¡“If you build it on this side of the road, people will get off their bikes and walk through my yard to go swim in the lake. But if you built it on the other side of the road, the lake will be further away, so maybe they won’t.”
¡“I’m going to have to lock my garage now.”
¡“Crime rate would surge as people from the trail would try to gain access to the lake, sheds, cars, houses as they do north of us near Dade City and Silver Lake area.”
ORANGE BELT TRAIL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
¡“This will ruin our property values and bring people in our neighborhood that do not belong. I fear for the safety of my family from people seeing our property and breaking in and stealing. Noise will be a problem My dogs will constantly be barking.”
¡“Friends in other communities have had issues with people urinating in their yards, tossing trash, or breaking down on their bikes and wandering into private yards looking for help. This is extremely dangerous for the elderly.”
One Public Official’s Perception of Trails
Quotes from Ordinance
“Intent and Purpose: to ensure…the Park is retained and conserved in its current, natural and scenic condition”
“The Fence shall not be a gateway into the Park , but rather a barrier to access into the Park”
A Tale of Two Trail Routes: Through a Park or along a Highway
DISCUSSION TOPIC: LEVELS OF TRAIL PLANNING
REGIONAL TRAILS PLANNING (HISTORY - SCTPA)
West Central Florida Chairs Coordinating Committee 1993 WCF CCC Multi-Use Trail Committee created 1995 Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority 2007 WCF CCC contracted with TBARTA 2016 Sun Coast Transportation Planning Alliance (SCTPA) 2021
REGIONAL TRAIL PROJECTS
¡ Friendship Trail Bridge (1999-2008)
¡ Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail (2007)
¡ Gulf Coast Trail (2016)*
¡ In Hillsborough County, includes:
¡ Courtney Campbell
¡ I-275 Greenway
¡ Tampa Riverwalk
¡ Selmon Greenway
¡ South Coast Greenway
¡ Continues to Collier/Lee
¡ Trust for Public Land Involvement
COUNTYWIDE TRAIL
PLANNING
¡ Bypass Canal Trail Feasibility Study (MPO 2015)
¡ 2016: Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails Master Plan Update (MPO)
¡ Combining into a single plan
¡ Looking at connections to neighboring counties
¡ Bypass Canal Trail Feasibility Study (MPO 2015)
¡ 2016: Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails Master Plan Update (MPO)
¡ Combining into a single plan
¡ Looking at connections to neighboring counties
¡ 2022-2023 – Greenways Master Plan Update – Hillsborough County
CITY-LEVEL TRAIL PLANNING
¡ Tampa Greenways Master Plan (2000)
¡ Tampa Walk Bike Plans
¡ Green ARTery (2012)
¡ West Tampa Multimodal Plan (2018)
¡ Plant City Walk Bike Plan (2017)
¡ USF to Green Artery (2021)
¡ Plant City Canal Trail (2023)
¡ Dale Mabry Overpass Study
¡ I-275 Greenway
DISCUSSION TOPIC: PLANNING FOR URBAN TRAILS
THE UNDERLINE – URBAN TRAIL
Photo credit: Sam Oberter ©2022
Photo credit: Sam Oberter ©2022
THE UNDERLINESPECIAL DISTRICT BOUNDARY
PREVENTING DISPLACEMENT
FRONTAGES
THE EMERALD TRAIL
EMERALD TRAIL
Miles 14 Neighborhoods 16 Schools
2 Colleges 21 Parks
30
Off street
PLANNING PROCESS
Privately Funded
Connect neighborhoods
Steering Committee
Connect to schools and parks
Connect to creeks, downtown, river
Neighborhoods
Mayor/City Council
Public Meeting
DESIGN CHALLENGES
¡ Signals Anyone?
¡ Curb Radius
¡ Driveway
MCCOYS CREEK RESTORATION
¡Under Construction
¡3 Trail Miles
LAVILLA LINK ¡ Under Construction ¡ 1.3 Trail Miles RIBBON CUTTING NOVEMBER 7!
THE STORY OF THE I USE PATH (
FUTURE SHARED USE PATHS ON FLORIDA BRIDGES
SR 16 Shands Bridge
I-275 Howard Frankland Bridge
DISCUSSION: TRAIL FUNCTION RECREATION VS. TRANSPORTATION
TRAIL PLANNING FUNDAMENTALS
Expand multimodal facilities
Improve connectivity
Close gaps in trail systems
Increase safety and accessibility
Support economic development
Enhance quality of life
Provide recreational opportunities
CLAY-DUVAL COUNTY TRAIL
REMOTE RECREATION VS. CONNECTIVITY
REMOTE RECREATION VS. CONNECTIVITY Jennings Route – low, wet locations. Remote, no cell service. Jennings Route – existing horse trails/hiking routes/service roads 10’ Oakleaf existing sidewalk through commercial and residential Route along Tynes Boulevard; residential, schools (expand sidewalk here)
EVALUATION MATRIX
FINAL ROUTES (INCLUDED BOTH)
DISCUSSION: FUNDING & IMPLEMENTATION
BORINQUEN TRAIL RAILS TO TRAILS INITIATIVE
EMERALD TRAIL: PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Groundwork Jax
* Community/ Stakeholder Engagement
* Lead Design
* Watershed Plans
* Maintenance
City of Jacksonville
* Design Partner
* Fund/Manage Construction
* Maintenance
Secured $23.4M (13%)
Committed $153.6M (87%)
PROJECT FUNDING
TRAIL CITIES COMPARISON
Municipal Federal/State
83% 7%
EMERALD TRAIL
Private
10%
JACKSONVILLE
Funding and Implementation of the East Coast
Greenway in Duval County
SIX YEARS LATER CONSTRUCTION FUNDING PROGRAMMED FOR 2026
MAJORITY OF THIS SECTION CONSTRUCTED BY NEPTUNE BEACH
PUBLIC WORKS AT THE COST OF $75,000
JARBOE PARK TRAIL FUNDED BY $200,000
RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM GRANT – 2021
THANK YOU!
ADDITIONAL .8 MILES OF FLORIDA BLVD PATH
DESIGNATED EAST COAST GREENWAY IN 2019 AND 2020
