Proposed project would connect to county’s 17th Street Regional Park and new athletic complex to be constructed
At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, a public meeting will be held “to share the progress of the Circus Trail Extension project and gather community feedback,” City of Sarasota staff has announced.
The session will be conducted at The Harvest Sarasota, which is located at 3650 17th St. in Sarasota (34235), a news release adds.
The meeting will include a brief overview of the plans for the Circus Trail Extension, which will be constructed from Circus Boulevard to Sarasota County’s 17th Street Regional Park, the release adds.
The Sarasota County Commission has approved a project that entails a number of improvements to the park, including new athletic fields.
A county Capital Projects Department update on that initiative, released this month, explains that the new athletic complex “will occupy 95 acres on the eastern part” of the existing 17th Street Park; the undertaking is expected to begin this spring. Completion of the construction is anticipated in the fall of 2026, the document notes.
The park will feature eight youth softball fields, including a Championship field; “four rectangular fields suitable for soccer, football, and lacrosse”; and “three fields dedicated to adult softball,” the county update continues. The supporting amenities planned are restrooms, concession stands, shade structures, meeting rooms, maintenance facilities, a press box and grandstands at the Championship field, that update adds.
An open house will follow the March 5 city staff presentation, the city news release says, with members of the public invited to “interact with the project team and ask questions.”
“The purpose of the [Circus Trail] project is to provide a safe trail connection for bicyclists, walkers, and other activity users,” the city news release explains. The proposed trail would run along the east side of Circus Boulevard, approximately 0.25 miles south of Bobby Jones Golf Club, and continue to the east/northeast for approximately 0.75 miles before ending in the northeast corner of the Golf Club, adjacent to the 17th Street Regional Park, the release points out.
“This trail extension will create key connections within both the Shared-Use Non-motorized (SUN) Trail and Gulf Coast Trail networks that are recognized statewide,” the release adds. The project also will “fulfill the top priority of the City’s Sarasota in Motion Transportation Master Plan, which is network expansion,” the release says.
“This project is an opportunity to strengthen our residents’ connectivity to, and usage of, one of our most cherished nature paths,” said Alvimarie Corales, the city’s chief transportation planner, in the release. With” insight from our community,” she continued, staff work on the extension and subsequent improvements “will come from a holistic approach and ultimately satisfy the goals put forth by our Transportation Master Plan.”
Comments offered during the public meeting will be considered before the design of the proposed trail reaches the 30% mark, the release points out. That project phase is scheduled for completion this summer, it adds.
Meeting materials are available on the project website, www.SarasotaFL.gov/CircusTrailExtension.