Category Archives: Announcements

Announcements, Trail News

The Legacy Trail – Laurel Road Utility Relocation Project Begins

The county has started work today, August 8, to relocate utilities where The Legacy Trail crosses Laurel Road.  This work is being done in preparation for building a Legacy Trail bridge over Laurel Road.

The utility relocation work is expected to last approximately three months.

The Legacy Trail intersection crossing Laurel Road will be closed, and trail users will be detoured to cross East of The Legacy Trail at Mission Valley Estates.

For questions, call the Sarasota County Contact Center at (941) 861-5000.

Announcements, Trail News

Osprey Junction Trailhead Closing for One Year

Bay Street, which extends from Tamiami Trail to The Legacy Trail Osprey Junction Trailhead (see map), is going to be extended east, across the trail, to Honore Avenue.  The Osprey Junction Trailhead will be closed for construction starting August 2, 2017 and lasting approximately 12 months.

The Legacy Trail will remain open for the entire length of project.

Starting approx. 8/1/17 the port-o-let will be removed from OJT/Legacy Trail intersection. In addition to this, all signs, picnic areas, kiosk and water fountain within the project corridor will be moved or removed and stored until end of construction.

Pedestrian access from the existing Bay St. to the Legacy Trail will remain open but watch for signage as a new temporary access trail will be opened to the north of the existing access trail during road construction.

Other access points to The Legacy Trail are (see map):

  • Culverhouse Nature Park: 7301 McIntosh Road Sarasota
  • Oscar Scherer State Park: 1843 South Tamiami Trail Osprey
  • Laurel Park Trailhead: 509 Collins Road Nokomis
  • Nokomis Riverview Park
  • Nokomis Community Center: 234 East Nippino Trail Nokomis
  • Patriots Park: 800 Venetia Bay Blvd Venice
  • Venice Train Depot: 303 East Venice Avenue Venice

For questions regarding the Bay St. Extension Project, please contact Ferdie Barnard at Ferdie.Barnard@stantec.com; 941.225.7600

For questions regarding The Legacy Trail/Osprey Junction Trailhead, contact Megan Donoghue at mdonoghue@scgov.net; 941-861-5126

Accomplishment Archive, Announcements, Trail News

FLT Donates Trail Counter to County

by Steve Martin

Friends of The Legacy Trail has donated a new, more accurate, trail counter to the County Parks Department to monitor traffic on The Legacy Trail.  Pictured, Jon Robinson, Division Manager, Natural Area Parks, Preserves and Trails (left), receives the counter from John League, President, Friends of The Legacy Trail (right).

FLT has performed two surveys in the past year to evaluate trail usage and user characteristics.  The results of these surveys and analysis were recently used to increase the calculated trail usage from 120,000 to 175,000 users per year.  Another finding from these surveys was that the currently-used trail counters are significantly under-counting trail usage.  An investigation of alternative counting devices and technology led to the selection of the more accurate Eco-Counter device donated by FLT to the county.

Having accurate data to demonstrate the popularity of The Legacy Trail is very important in seeking financial support for the trail and the trail extension to Sarasota.  This activity is currently being performed by both the County Parks Department (Thanks Megan!) and members of FLT.    In the trail business the saying is “If we don’t count, we don’t get counted.”

Announcements, Past Events, Trail News

OJT Park Cleanup – Part 2

by Mark Malkasian

Update:  The next OJT cleanup is scheduled for Thursday, January 12, 2017 from 8:30 AM – Noon.

It’s been over six months since our first rounds of landscaping work at Osprey Junction Trailhead Park and overgrowth again threatens to obscure views of the main building that has been nicely re-painted by the County since we last worked the site.

ojt-1038x577Now that the humidity has moderated this is a call for volunteers for renewal of the “Cut, Rake, Haul & Manicure” effort at our planned Visitor Center. We’re happy to have as our guide, Megan Donoghue our Parks & Rec. Specialist, who has been stocking up on tools and equipment to better arm us for the effort. You are certainly free to bring your favorite landscaping implement and we’ll throw in the camaraderie to make it a fun morning on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 from 8:30 to Noon.

ojt5Suggested personal items are sunscreen, work gloves and protective clothing.  Water, coffee and snacks will be provided. The proposed Visitor Center will be open for viewing and any suggestions for its transformation will be welcome.  So come by, grab a tool and join in for a rewarding morning of giveback to what we hope will be a key feature of the Trail experience. Osprey Junction Trailhead
is at the east end of Bay Street in Osprey next to The Legacy Trail just north of Oscar Scherer State Park. Please contact Mark Malkasian via our contact form or at 941-445- 2890 to confirm participation or if you have questions.

Announcements, Trail News

Bike Repair Stations Coming to the Trail!

repair-station-1Sarasota County will be installing four bike repair stations on the Legacy Trail and more at other locations in the county. The four proposed locations on the Trail are: Osprey Junction Trailhead, Venice Train Depot, Laurel Park and Central Sarasota Parkway. Installation will begin in November. 

The stations are the Bike Fixation Deluxe Public Work Stands.  They provide a full complement of repair tools and a bicycle pump with both Schrader and Presta valve connectors.  As shown in the picture above, there a two ways of supporting your bike while working on it.

repair-station-3Special thanks to Patrick Lui, County Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Coordinator, for initiating and making this idea happen.  Also, thanks to Megan Donoghue, Parks Department, who will be assembling and installing the stations.

The new stations for Sarasota County have arrived and one was on display at the recent Florida Neighborhood Conference held in Venice on October 13:

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The last two photos were provided by Darryl Lang.  Previous images were from the Bike Fixation web site.

Announcements, Trail News

Tripadvisor Gives The Legacy Trail It’s Certificate of Excellence

by Andrea Seager

Very quietly, without much fanfare, The Legacy Trail has become one of Sarasota’s most important tourist attractions. TripAdvisor.com, one of the world’s largest and most influential travel websites with 375 million monthly visitors has awarded a Certificate of Excellence to Sarasota County’s multi-use Legacy Trail.

Enjoyed by over 120,000 people per year, the trail has been reviewed 335 times with the vast majority of TripAdvisor members granting four or five stars to the 10.6 mile paved path that starts at The Venice Train Depot. Travelers from as far away as Moscow, Jerusalem and London extol the virtues of the flat, easy terrain. Andre D. from Concord, New Hampshire’s comments are typical: “We rented bikes at Real Bikes in Venice right next to the trail. Very reasonable and nice bikes. The trail is fantastic. We had a great ride 20 miles up and back. Plenty of places to rest and get shade. Enjoyable for all levels. Excellent construction of the trail.”

The Friends of The Legacy Trail website includes maps showing parking areas, rest stops, bicycle rentals and a wealth of other information about the Trail. If you haven’t explored it yet, now might be the perfect time to check out Sarasota’s “excellent” Legacy Trail!

Announcements, Past Events

Oakwood Manor Presentation

Friends of The Legacy Trail will be presenting a program on The Legacy Trail at the Oakwood Manor Home Owners Association (map here) at 1 PM on February 13th, 2016.  This presentation should be of particular interest to residents of northern Sarasota County because of the planned extension of The Trail through this area.  Everyone is invited to attend.  Although this is a gated community,  the guard will allow you entry for the presentation.

Click Map to Enlarge

As the above map shows, the planned route along the existing railroad right-of-way will pass near the communities of Oakwood Manor and Pinecraft.  In addition, the extension would create the potential for a connecting route to Nathan Benderson Park and the The Meadows trail system using the existing Circus Trail.

Announcements

Members of the Stark County Bicycle Club Visit The Legacy Trail

Welcome to members of the Stark County Bicycle Club who are currently staying in Venice and enjoying riding The Legacy Trail and and other trails in Sarasota County!  The club has been a strong supporter of our efforts to extend The Legacy Trail into downtown Sarasota by collecting signatures on our petition and becoming an Organizational Member of Friends of The Legacy Trail.

Here is a note we just received from Dave Cardarella:

Just a note to let you know Stark County Bicycle Club has been in Venice for more than a week.

We are making an economic impact on the area.

This is the clubs 10th anniversary of visiting Venice in January.

We have 40 members in 20 rooms at the Island Sun Hotel, most of us are staying for 2 weeks.

We are eating in local restaurants every day.

And we are shopping at local merchants.

And of course, we are greatly enjoying the great bicycle riding infrastructure of Sarasota County, including the Legacy Trail.

Attached is a group photo.

Dave Cardarella

SCBC Newsletter Editor

Thanks Dave and all the members of SCBC  and hope you have a great vacation this year.  We really appreciate your support!