Southwest Ranches workshop draws riders urging safer, connected equestrian trails

Moderator opened a public workshop in the Town of Southwest Ranches to solicit community input on equestrian trails and invited attendees to review enlarged, color-coded maps and mark gaps or unusable routes. The meeting focused on identifying missing connections, local safety hazards and a long-term vision for equestrian access.

The moderator said the town has two immediate objectives: build a durable trail plan that identifies gaps to fill and mark sections unlikely ever to be used. “We’re not going to take anybody’s property,” the moderator told the room, adding that staff will approach property owners about easements only after there is a finalized plan residents support.

Residents highlighted several persistent barriers to east–west connectivity, naming I‑75 as a major obstacle and Sterling Road as a priority crossing to make safe. One participant urged the town to pursue a Sterling Road lane conversion and a dedicated crossover—moves that officials said had been on the town’s books in the past and would require council action to revive.

Safety concerns were raised repeatedly. Longtime residents said speeding on local corridors and parked landscaping trucks, bulk pickups and contractor vehicles on narrow streets force riders into traffic. “We are having an issue with the speeding,” a resident said, noting radar data has been collected locally. Attendees also criticized county guardrails along canals for limiting where horses can cross, and pointed to at least one traffic signal button placed in the roadway that is difficult for riders to reach.

Participants proposed practical fixes: adding low hedges or visual delineators between trails and roadways instead of guardrails, trimming overgrown vegetation that encroaches on swales, designing multi-use non-motorized corridors (to broaden funding eligibility), and installing equestrian-accessible push-buttons at signals. Several residents said landscaping and shade trees along existing trails (for example along Flamingo and Griffin roads) would improve usability in hot weather.

Speakers recounted historic trail links behind Country Glen and along Old Sheridan that were once continuous but have been closed or filled in; some of those segments lie in adjacent jurisdictions (Davie, Pembroke Pines, Cooper City), which complicates reopening them. Multiple attendees warned the town against prematurely relinquishing easements after earlier decisions removed options for future connections.

The meeting also featured community reflection about preserving the town’s rural, equestrian character amid newer development. “We have something special here,” one resident said, urging outreach and education through programs such as the town’s Ranchers Academy so new residents and realtors understand rural expectations.

A boarding‑facility owner, Robin Ditze, who said she operates a 23‑stall facility, told the workshop she was surprised by unmapped trail segments behind her property and urged clearer mapping so riders know where legal access exists. The moderator asked attendees to leave marked maps and contact details; staff and council will compile the feedback and prepare a draft plan for further review within a roughly two‑month timeframe, timing that was described in the meeting as approximately “60 and in days” (not specified precisely in the transcript).

Next steps: town staff will assemble the maps and notes left by attendees, draft a proposed trail plan and return a revised proposal for public review and comment. The workshop closed with a call for volunteers to help formalize the map and continued outreach.