Providing Access to Florida's System of Greenways

GOAL FIVE: Design, develop and maintain trails throughout Florida that provide public access to and promote appreciation, support and conservation of the natural, cultural, and historical features of the state's system of greenways. To truly benefit Florida's residents and visitors, the state's system of greenways must be accessible. in fact, the Commission's vision calls for every Floridian to be within a few minutes of a system of greenways that can be traversed via foot, bicycle, horse and canoe. That access often will come through trails. Trails provide a way of getting to the lands and waters of Florida's system of greenways, but they also do much more. They provide people of all abilities a wide variety of recreational, educational, social, wellness and alternative transportation opportunities and experiences. Trails link people with the natural and cultural environments and can foster new enthusiasm for the state's natural, recreational, cultural and historic resources. Because trails provide access to special places that help create a strong sense of place and community, trail users throughout Florida share a commitment to blend trails into the natural environment and their communities. Trails can have many forms-narrow, winding wilderness paths, primitive woods roads, converted rail and canal corridors, beach and other water-based trails along rivers, streams and coastlines. If they fall within protected corridors, trails are greenways. Trails can be an effective tool for managing public access to sensitive resources. in many cases, they provide excellent opportunities for conservation and recreation groups, public agencies, landowners, companies, and dedicated individuals to work together on greenway projects. Summary of Recommended Strategies Establish an institutional framework that actively fosters and promotes trail conservation and access. Florida's institutional structure for fostering and promoting trail conservation and access to public lands, historical and cultural sites is disjointed and inadequate to support the state's outstanding trail opportunities. The current system relies on the efforts of many separate agencies, land managers and user groups to develop and manage individual trails. Additional support is needed to build coalitions or provide incentives for public-private partnerships to support trail protection and management. The Florida Recreational Trails Council, an advisory body to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, has indicated an interest in becoming a vehicle for broader greenways coordination, leadership and advocacy. Identify trails for protection through local, regional, state, and federal planning. Trails should be recognized, protected and integrated in local, regional, state and federal planning. A statewide greenways plan is needed to guide efforts to conserve trails through the many programs funding public land acquisition and development. Florida has the tools-land acquisition, planning, growth management, and dedicated citizens-to develop the nation's most extensive and most used trails system. A coordinated statewide effort is needed to make the statewide greenways system a reality. Integrate linear facilities (transportation, utility, canal and other human-built corridors) where appropriate as human-use connectors and/or access to Florida's system of greenways. Florida is crossed by thousands of miles of linear facilities, connecting our communities and passing through or by public lands. These corridors contain pipelines, water and sewer lines, fiber optic lines, electric transmission lines, drainage canals and levees, roads and railroads. Where natural connections do not exist, these corridors may provide the only opportunity for creating links and/or providing access to Florida's statewide system of greenways. Often, they constitute the only greenway opportunities in highly developed urban and suburban areas. These opportunities should be systematically explored and partnerships developed to take advantage of those circumstances where gaps in the statewide trails system can be bridged by using or following existing or proposed rights-of-way. A particularly successful model in this area is the conversion of the rights-of-way of former railroad corridors to rail-trails used for many types of recreation. Develop a process for recognizing and/or designating trails as part of Florida's system of greenways. A process for recognizing and/or designating individual trails as part of Florida's system of greenways is needed to ensure that the lands and waters used for trails are protected and users are afforded a high quality experience. The process should include developing a Florida Greenways Plan as well as minimum guidelines for design and maintenance and procedures for recognizing, designating or certifying individual trails. While categorizing greenways helps us understand their different forms, in reality types blend and overlap. While the ability of greenways to "link" other resources is important, not every greenway is a connector. Some stand on their own as important linear recreational resources, like trails and bikeways.