Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Trails topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Space Coast TPO presents Southern Brevard Trails Master Plan, highlights Palm Bay corridors
Summary
A Space Coast TPO consultant presented a Southern Brevard Trails Master Plan to Palm Bay council recommending roughly 140 new miles of trails and prioritizing corridors through Palm Bay, including the C1 Canal and Babcock Street; staff and council discussed funding, timelines and feasibility studies.
The Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization and its consultant outlined a regional plan to expand trails across southern Brevard County, emphasizing connections into Palm Bay and prioritizing corridors that could leverage other roadway projects. Travis Hills of Kittelson and Associates described a data-driven screening that recommended roughly 140 new miles of trails and a network that would grow the regional system toward about 460 total miles when combined with existing and planned facilities. He said the study balances recreation, public health and environmental stewardship and identified the C1 Canal and Babcock Street/US‑1 alignments among the top 10 prioritized corridors.
Hills said the plan grew from public outreach — an in‑person open house, mapping tools and stakeholder meetings — that produced about 70 in‑person attendees and modest online comment counts. Sarah Crom, senior transportation planner for the TPO, described the outreach tactics and said the public preferred more off‑road and unpaved trails that access natural areas. Council members pressed staff on implementation timing and budgets; Hills estimated a 10–15 year horizon for moving corridors from feasibility into construction and said the next step is feasibility and design studies for candidate corridors.
Council discussed funding strategies and partnerships, including the Transportation Planning Organization, FDOT, county partners, and possible developer contributions or impact‑fee credits. Deputy Mayor Jaffe and others asked whether feasibility studies and right‑of‑way needs could be staged to make projects more competitive for grants. Hills and TPO staff recommended coordinated local support and said a successful approach is to pair trail projects with road projects (for example, widening Babcock Street) to reduce incremental costs and improve grantability.
The presentation concluded with staff and council agreeing to continue engagement and consider feasibility studies for top corridors, while noting that securing grants and local matches will be crucial. Council members encouraged staff to keep trails and trail‑friendly policies in mind as the city updates its land development code.
