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Manatee County outlines multi‑year push to expand Sun Trail, county connectors
Summary
County public‑works staff presented a status update on the county’s trails master plan, saying some regional segments have partial funding and outlining a phased construction approach. Commissioners pressed for accelerated local funding and clearer timelines.
Manatee County public‑works staff on Wednesday presented a status update on county trails plans and projects, saying the county is transitioning responsibility for trail construction to public works and is pursuing a mix of developer partnerships, state Sun Trail designation and federal grants to build regional and connector trails.
The presentation, led by Clark Davis, deputy director of public works, distinguished regional “Sun Trail” segments from county and connector trails and said the Sun Trail generally requires 12‑foot, hard‑surfaced, ADA‑accessible paths while the county’s master plan targets 15‑foot regional trails and 8–12 foot connectors. “For purposes of this presentation, we’re talking about trails as infrastructure you can use for making trips,” Davis said.
County planning and engineering staff showed maps of the Gateway Greenway/Sun Trail alignment running north–south through the county and identified several projects in production or design: a Bourneside Boulevard segment being built under agreement with Schrader Manatee Ranch (SMR); a Rye Preserve to State Road 64 connection (estimated locally at about $4 million for the Waterline‑to‑Rye segment); the Palmetto Trail Network middle…
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