Jacksonville Beach is working to create a multi-modal urban trails network for the City of Jacksonville Beach that provides safe access and usability for all ages and abilities of residents and visitors.
In 2021, the City of Jacksonville Beach embarked on an effort to develop an Urban Trails Master Plan. The goal was to provide City residents and visitors of all ages and abilities a high-quality network of urban trail infrastructure that would serve as a multi-modal transportation network as well as provide a system for activity and recreation.
This Urban Trails Master Plan provides a framework for implementing such a comprehensive trail system. Utilizing public input obtained from discussions with the community, the trail plan identifies
- A vision and framework for a city-wide, multi-use trail system.
- Links between neighborhoods, beaches, parks, commercial focal points, and natural areas.
- Routes, providing design parameters and concepts for various facility types.
Design concepts were developed using best practices with considerations for the desired user groups. This document also serves as a guide for implementing and directing future investments in the right-of-way (R.O.W.) by delineating an approach for realizing a built network through identifying priorities for future capital improvement funding and potential grant opportunities.
The Plan also provides policy guidance for designing the corridor as well as considerations for new development and connections to neighboring communities. A significant regional trail, the East Coast Greenway Trail (ECG Trail), is also discussed within the Plan. Jacksonville Beach is one of the communities that the ECG Trail will pass through and by providing a corridor that is consistent with the guidelines, will create a regionally significant asset in the community.
This Plan is a culmination of community, stakeholder, staff input, and latest planning and design practices. Public input provided a clear list of goals and objectives for the Plan and became the basis for concept designs and routing.