Circus Trail envisioned to connect Fruitville to 17th Street Park

The path of Circus Trail provides for safe transit of pedestrians and bicyclists from Fruitville Road through Circus Nature Trail Park to a point several hundred yards south of the entrance to Bobby Jones Golf Club and Nature Park.

That’s where the paved pathway crosses Circus Boulevard from east to west, continues past the Gillespie par 3 golf course before crossing back to the east. From there it continues to the Bobby Jones complex entrance.

At its May 4 meeting, the Sarasota City Commission unanimously authorized the city to execute an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for a design project to enhance and realign the trail into and through the Bobby Jones complex to Sarasota County’s adjacent 17th Street Regional Park.

Trail users can get there now, but must first execute the Circus Boulevard criss-cross and navigate various surfaces and cracked pathways not suitable for heavy use.

"There's a lot going on there," said Capital Projects Manager Alvimarie Corales.

FDOT and the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization have granted the city $1.1 million for the Circus Trail design and construction project through the local agency program. The project includes design services for just more than a half-mile of trail. 

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“It's one of the top priorities for the city of Sarasota to make this connection,” Corales told commissioners. “The project would extend Circus Trail from where it terminates to the west side of Circus Boulevard. … It will keep it on the east side of Circus Boulevard.”

The project is currently funded by the city to the 30% design stage, which is expected to be completed this fall, according to Corales. 

“And then design (completion) would soon start right after,” Corales said. “We’re looking at about one year to one-and-a-half years to get that completed.”

From there construction would take place in the 2028-2029 FDOT fiscal year. The trail will enter Bobby Jones at the main access point off Circus Boulevard, continue past the clubhouse, the practice area and into and through the nature park.

"It would end before the 17th Street Park, because the idea is that once it's built, we can partner with Sarasota County," Corales said. "Then Sarasota County can help us determine where they want the crossing, and we can get into an agreement with them to move the project forward to the next stage."

Sarasota County has recently completed an extension of Legacy Trail from its crossing at over South Beneva Road toward downtown northward to Fruitville Road, where it connects with Circus Trail. 

The Circus Trail project is part of the city's multimodal network. It will expand connectivity by linking the Legacy Trail at Beneva Road to Bobby Jones Golf Club, 17th Street Regional Park, and ultimately to Nathan Benderson Park.