Summer 2018
Titusville, located along Florida’s East Coast, was designated Florida's second official Trail Town at the June 2018 Florida Greenways and Trails Council meeting.
Titusville sits at the convergence of three long-distance trails - Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail, East Coast Greenway and the St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop. The town's steps to becoming a Trail Town included forming a trails committee, spearheading efforts to build a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over their busiest thoroughfare, Garden Street, revamping downtown streets to be more bicyclist/pedestrian friendly, and opening a new visitor center in 2017 that includes a bike shop inside. An eight-minute video produced by the town shows their Trail Town evolution.
“We could not be more proud and excited about being designated Florida’s second Trail Town by the Department of Environmental Protection," said Mayor Walt Johnson. “The city recognizes the economic impact and importance of becoming a Trail Town. We continue to work diligently to become the premier destination and Trail Town in the state. Our downtown merchants are excited and beginning to see the increase in their businesses by those trail users who eat, shop, and enjoy our unique offerings."
DEP’s Office of Greenways and Trails (OGT) encourages interested communities to conduct self-assessments to gauge their strengths and weaknesses in relation to nearby trails and users. Trail Town candidates fill out an applicationand are then considered for approval by the legislatively-established Florida Greenways and Trails Council. To recognize Florida’s Trail Towns, designated Trail Towns are featured on the OGT website and given metal signs that can be placed at trailheads and town gateways along with stickers for the windows of businesses.
"Titusville earned this designation by taking strong steps over the years to become more pedestrian and bicycle friendly," said Doug Alderson, OGT Assistant Bureau Chief. “We hope many more towns will follow their footprints.”
By Eric Draper, Florida Park Service Director
This newly added three-mile section of trail between Osceola National Forest and the town of White Springs eliminated five miles of road walking. This kind of connection is the best investment we can make. The full promise of trails is realized when they link different places together.
I’m reminded of a story a friend told me about the Tanglefoot Trail, which links the Mississippi towns of Pontotoc and Houston. There was an elderly man named Ron who lived in Pontotoc. Ron had not seen a childhood friend for many years because the friend lived in Houston and neither of them had cars. When Tanglefoot Trail opened in 2013, residents of Pontotoc and Houston could easily cycle between the two towns instead of braving narrow, winding rural roads. His son bought Ron a bicycle, and Ron joined a growing renaissance in the relationship between the two small towns and reconnected with his childhood friend.
What really surprised me was that the distance between the two towns was over 20 miles, but the trail and a community cycling club had generated so much enthusiasm that people of all ages were using it. It connected the towns and their residents and provided a fitness opportunity as well.
That’s what trails do. They connect us, improving our lives and our health. The designation of Dunedin and recently Titusville as Florida Trail Towns shows that communities of all sizes are investing in trails and recognizing the real benefits and opportunities they offer to citizens.
I’m proud of the work that our staff, volunteers, legislators, and partners like the Florida Trail Association are doing to make sure that we’re more connected every day.
By Paul Haydt, East Coast Greenway Florida Coordinator
The East Coast Greenway (ECG) spine route extends 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida. The Florida segment will be the longest trail in any state along the route, spanning 600 miles from Fernandina Beach to Key West.
Of the planned 600 miles of off-road trails, over 200 miles are finished and completely off-road. This year, over 25 new miles of trail in four different counties are scheduled to be completed.
One of the highest priorities for the Florida East Coast Greenway is the 20-mile Florida City Gap between Miami and Key Largo, where the current on-road travel route is along busy U.S. Highway 1. When the Florida City Gap safe off-road trail is completed, the already completed 35 miles of ECG route between Miami Beach and Homestead — the state’s largest metropolitan area — will be connected to the 106-mile Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, part of the ECG and one of the world's most recognized natural resource and recreational destinations. With major airports along the route, completion of this 20-mile trail gap will open tourism markets to accomplished cyclists and a wide range of walkers, hikers and cyclists.
The city of Jacksonville’s 50-mile loop trail project, the Core 2 Coast Loop, is one of the most exciting ECG trail developments to emerge in the last year. Jacksonville issued a proposal for the loop to be added into the ECG spine route. What makes this project so valuable and attractive to the ECG is that the trail will enhance both north bank and south bank developments along the St. Johns River. It will connect through major industrial and business redevelopment areas of the city associated with the Jacksonville Jaguar Stadium area and support long-desired community enhancement and redevelopment efforts in some of Jacksonville's older neighborhoods.
In support of Jacksonville and to highlight and add momentum to its Core 2 Coast Loop Trail Program, the East Coast Greenway Alliance has selected Jacksonville to host the 2019 Second Biannual Southeast Greenways and Trails Summit. The program will provide a stage for Florida and Jacksonville to showcase the tremendous ongoing trail efforts as well as present the trail industry and trail managers the opportunity to demonstrate trail techniques and materials that will guide the efforts.
This paved multi-use trail winds through trees along the wide right-of-way of U.S. 98 from the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail to Wakulla High School. Two other Coastal Trail segments are currently being designed and are funded for construction in the next two to four years. The Ochlockonee Bay Bike Trail will connect the coastal village of Panacea to Wakulla High School. A three-mile segment running east of the Tallahassee-St. Marks Trail to Lighthouse Road is currently being designed.
"This clearly demonstrates how a project can be completed from planning to construction in five years," said Jack Kostrzewa, Planning Manager of the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA). "The CRTPA Board needs to be commended for committing their own funds for the environmental study, design and construction of the Coastal Trail. They are truly a group of elected officials who know what it takes to get positive results in a short period of time. We are all excited about this trail and future construction from Wakulla High School to Surf Road."
It is not too early to prepare for exciting trail events in the fall since many require advance registration. A few are listed here, but be sure to check out the OGT online calendar for more.
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