JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Plans are underway to bring a 25-mile biking and walking route to Jacksonville. It’s called the Core-2-Coast trail.
The shared-use path would go from the Fuller Warren Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge all the way to the beach communities on the eastern border of Duval County.
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The North Florida Transportation Planning Organization and the City of Jacksonville partnered to develop the plan.
According to a feasibility study, the proposed trail will connect 17 schools, 12 parks and nearly 80 transit stops in multiple neighborhoods.
One of the main goals of this project is to create safer conditions for those who bike and walk.
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According to Smart Growth America’s annual Dangerous by Design report, Jacksonville consistently ranks in the top 20 metro areas for pedestrian deaths, with more than 100 people are killed on Jacksonville roadways each year. Between a quarter and a third of those victims are pedestrians or bicyclists.
“The thought process behind that is how do we get people that are non-motorized, anything like skateboard, walking, biking, how do we get them away from the roadway where cars are there,” said Matt Fall, the city’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.
Ultimately, the Core-2-Coast trail will connect the Emerald Trail and urban core neighborhoods to the East Coast Greenway, a multimodal path which extends through Florida’s coastal cities and 14 other states for 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida.
Read: Jacksonville officials open first part of Emerald Trail
This is all still in the very early stages and the project is expected to cost $25 million. Action News Jax was told they are still working to find funding sources.
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