Navarre residents propose multiuse path, cycle loop around cleared Eglin reuse area to improve access

A resident of Holly By The Sea told the Santa Rosa County commission on Oct. 23 that the Eglin Regional Reuse Project’s cleared corridors and a maintained perimeter around solar fields present an opportunity for a short multiuse path to State Road 399 and a recreational loop for Navarre residents.

Ricky McLeod said the existing entry for many East End Holly By The Sea residents requires a more than two-mile trip to reach the multiuse path on S.R. 399 and urged the county to consider a roughly 3,000-foot connection from Rexford that he said is already cleared as part of phase one of the reuse project. “It'd be a great exit for Holly By The Sea. And I'm not talking cars. I'm talking bicycles, walkers, joggers, nonvehicle stuff,” McLeod said.

McLeod also proposed developing a perimeter trail around a nearby solar field, which he said is double-fenced and currently maintained, and suggested that loop distances would provide recreational mileage for residents and connect neighborhoods. “The total distance around that would be, right at, 4.1 mile... if you just did the north half of it, that would only that would get us down to, like, 3.1,” he told the commissioners.

Commissioners thanked him for the presentation and said staff would take the proposal under advisement. No formal board action was taken; commissioners invited McLeod and other residents to work with staff on project feasibility, right-of-way issues and funding options in future meetings.