On Saturday, residents from the neighborhoods of North Riverside to Durkeeville came together to see how their voices have influenced the upcoming phase of Jacksonville’s Emerald Trail project.
In Jacksonville, Florida, Groundwork Jacksonville, in collaboration with city officials, organized a community gathering to unveil the revised trail alignments. They also provided updates on the project’s funding, timelines, and future steps.
According to Groundwork Jacksonville, these revisions were directly informed by the community feedback gathered during meetings held earlier this year.
“Today, we are revealing what I would describe as the final draft for the trail routes covering four segments—specifically segments six, seven, and eight,” explained Kay Ehas, CEO of Groundwork Jacksonville.
Additionally, Ehas shared that segments three and four of the project are moving ahead, thanks to funding from local gas tax revenues.
Despite this progress, segments six, seven, and eight are still in need of financial backing before they can proceed.
“The last major infrastructure project that was done in the urban core was I-95, which cut off neighborhoods and destroyed some neighborhoods. So we feel like it’s the first major infrastructure project that’s going into the urban core that will add just a lot of value,” Ehas said.
Segment three is currently out for bid for design, with construction expected to begin in 2027.
Longtime resident says neighborhood issues must be addressed first
Not everyone at the meeting felt the project should take top priority.
Karen Richardson has lived in Durkeeville for more than 20 years. She says basic infrastructure problems in the neighborhood still haven’t been addressed.
“I’m worried about the infrastructure, that is the main thing, because things haven’t been done in over 40–50 years. The drain situation that occurs still exists.” Richardson said.
The Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study for the trail is expected to be completed next month. Groundwork Jacksonville says it wants residents to feel ownership of the project — and to use this final window to submit feedback.
“We want them to feel like it is theirs, because it is especially the folks that are living in the neighborhood that are going through so we want them to go. We love it. We’re using it,” Ehas said.
Residents who couldn’t attend Saturday’s meeting can still review materials and submit comments on Groundwork Jacksonville’s website.
