Plan to extend Legacy Trail approved by the board of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization

Exciting News! Plans have been approved to extend the Legacy Trail from Beneva Road thru Bobby Jones golf course to Nathan Benderson Park and beyond into Lakewood Ranch.  The 12 foot wide multi-modal trail will allow for bicycles and pedestrians to travel from downtown Sarasota east to Lorraine Road when completed. This will ad approximately eight miles to the trail.

According to an article by Anna Snabes of the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the approval means that local governments can now apply for funding for the project through the state’s SUN Trail program. (The SUN Trail network is a statewide network of bike/pedestrian trails.) They can also now apply for federal funding. Read the full article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

The next step will will call for local governments to conduct a Project Development and Environment Study, which is an analysis of the social, cultural, and environmental impacts of the project, and design the trail. We hope to see the next stage of development in 2024.