FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 3, 2014
DEP HOSTS COAST
TO COAST CONNECTOR SUMMIT
~Officials meet
to plan future of Coast to Coast Connector~
 WINTER GARDEN – Multiple state and local agencies continue to collaborate on the Coast to Coast Connector trail initiative. Wednesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and
Trails hosted the Coast to Coast Summit. Approximately 140 trail users, planners, managers and elected officials met to discuss the future of the trail.
The department is working with the Florida Department of Transportation to advance
the Coast to Coast Connector, one of more than 10 long-distance corridors
identified within the Florida Greenways and Trails Priority Trails
Network. The Coast to Coast Connector will traverse nine counties, bridge
gaps between 14 existing state- and locally managed trails, and stretch 250 miles
from St. Petersburg to Titusville connecting the Gulf of Mexico with the
Atlantic Ocean.
Anticipated
to be a major destination route, the Coast to Coast Connector will provide one
continuous, multi-use paved trail, allowing residents and visitors to explore
Central Florida by bicycle or foot. An estimated 75 percent of the trail
corridor is already developed and open to the public or funded for
construction.
“We
are excited about the Coast to Coast Connector,” said Donald Forgione, director
of the Florida Park Service. “Trails provide visitor destinations for Florida.
We know hikers and bicyclists are already using portions of the trail and will
use it even more when construction is complete.”
Funding
for the project was included in the 2014-2015 “It’s Your Money Tax Cut Budget,”
signed by Governor Rick Scott, which set aside at least $15.5 million to
complete gaps in the connector. Exceeding that target, $18.8 million will be
used to complete 11 separate trail segments in nine counties. This new funding
is in addition to the more than $26 million that is already programmed by FDOT
for the connector project over the next five years.
The
Florida Greenway and Trails Foundation,
a citizen support organization, shared a 20-minute video that demonstrates the
excitement among trail users for the Coast to Coast Connector.
"This
first Florida regional trail will set the template for trails to come," said W.
Dale Allen, president of the Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation.
At
the summit, the Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation and Bike Walk Central
Florida presented Senator Andy Gardiner with a plaque naming him Legislator of
the Year and thanking him for his vision and support of the Coast to Coast
Connector.
"This
is something we can all come together on in a bi-partisan way," said Senator
Andy Gardiner.
The connector is a collaborative effort of many agencies and organizations,
including the 11 Central Florida metropolitan planning organizations that
signed a joint resolution last summer making the trail project a regional priority.
Along with more than nine other long distance corridors, the connector is
a state priority in the 2013-17 Florida Greenways and Trails System Plan,
developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of
Greenways and Trails, the lead entity for statewide trail planning. The plan outlines
the vision for the Florida Greenways and Trails System, defining the role of
the system in advancing Florida’s economy, tourism, health, transportation,
recreation, conservation and quality of life.
| 
