Work begins to widen Legacy Trail near downtown Sarasota

Construction is under way on a 6-foot-wide second lane of the Legacy Trail near downtown, adding capacity and safety to the popular rails-to-trails byway.

The initial phase of the 1.4-mile project runs from Shade Avenue to Beneva Road and will run past the Pompano Trailhead, adjacent to Robarts Arena and the Babe Ruth baseball complex.

Though probably not rigidly enforced as a bikes on one side, pedestrians on the other arrangement, the expansion will give users options based on comfort levels, Friends of the Legacy Trail president Rita Miotti said.

“We’ve got bikes, people pushing strollers, dogs on leashes, people walking or jogging out there,’’ she said. “It does get pretty busy, especially during the season. We’re hoping people will settle into their own vibes.’’

There is noneed for additional space to finish the project, which is expected to be complete in spring 2026, Sarasota County said. When designers initially lengthened the Legacy Trail between downtown Sarasota and the Palmer Ranch area, they left expansion space in the busiest sections, such as the segments north of Clark Road traversing densely populated neighborhoods and urban settings. One of the selling points of that section was the potential as a commuting alternative.

In 2023, Sarasota County Commissioners approved the widening plan, funding it with a combination of state grants, impact fee revenue and private donations from the Friends of the Legacy Trail.

Spectrum Underground LLC is performing the work.

Photo by Carlin Gillen

Construction of the first phase is part of an overall 4.18-mile widening plan. Design of the project was completed last year by Kimley-Horn and Associates for $59,950, county documents show.

Finance for the construction comes a combination of $400,000 in grants, $497,000 in grant-matching money, $117,000 in impact fee revenue and $320,000 in private donations.

The voter-approved 2018 referendum that paved the way for the trail’s expansion to the north also set in motion expansions on the south end of the trail, which had previously ended in Venice. Now, a connector links all the way to North Port. Miotti said initial conversations are underway with the county to perhaps one day connect the current end at Price Boulevard to Warm Mineral Springs.

Last summer, work was completed on a pair of overpasses, spanning Clark Road and Bee Ridge Road. In the future, there are funds allocated to design a Circus Trail link from the Legacy Trail to the Bobby Jones Nature Park, and eventually the county’s revamped 17th Street Park and even to Nathan Benderson Park. City leaders in Sarasota recently scrapped plans to extend a greenway and instead bank the funding to close a gap on the construction budget for Circus Trail.

Miotti said she expects work to begin in December on the conversion of a sidewalk along Beneva Road from the Legacy Trail crossing to Fruitville Road, which may someday get an overpass as well.

There were about 644,400 trail users in 2024, though the peak year was 2023, with more than 676,000 riders. Through September, just more than 451,000 riders had used the trail, according to Friends of the Legacy Trail.