Construction on the Lehigh Trailhead Project off of Belle Terre Parkway will start on January 23. The $2.5 million project enhances the popular path by providing disability-access paved parking with more than 60 parking spaces, a restroom, and a water fountain. The project also includes community gardens, a dog park, lighting, and pavilions.
The dirt parking lot at the Lehigh trailhead and the sidewalk that runs along the parking area will close starting Monday, January 23, for the duration of construction. (See: “From Controversy to Harmony: Ambitious, $11.4 Million Expansion of Tennis Center and Trailhead Draws Praise.”)
Visitors to the area must park across Belle Terre Parkway in the grass lot and use the designated crosswalk at Belle Terre Pkwy and Royal Palms Pkwy to access the trailhead. It is important for visitors to use the crosswalk for their own safety, as well as for the safety of others. The closure and parking arrangements are in place to allow for necessary construction and improvements to the trailhead area. Construction is expected to be completed by November 2023.
This project supports the City Council’s priority pillar of safe and reliable services and promotes collaboration with Flagler County on the Countywide Parks Master Plan. It is also a direct result of great partnerships and inter-agency cooperation by the City of Palm Coast, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization. City planners worked with staff from both organizations to amend FDOT’s 5-year Work Program and the River to Sea TPO’s 5-year Transportation Improvement Plan to make this project a reality.
This project was made possible in part by a grant for $1.24 million provided by the Florida Department of Transportation. Residents and visitors to Palm Coast also help contribute to improvements at city amenities through spending locally, which is highlighted in the city’s Be Local Buy Local campaign. A portion generated through the small county surtax and the local government half-cent sales tax comes back to the community to pay for capital improvement projects. This is another example of how shopping local helps not just the businesses, but also the community.
In addition to sales tax, recreation impact fees are also utilized. This means every new dwelling unit constructed in Palm coast pays an impact fee that is used to pay for a portion of recreation capacity improvement projects.
To discover more about this project, visit the Capital Projects dashboard at palmcoast.gov/engineering
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Carol says
How about giving Royal Palm Parkway a sidewalk/path for those of us that live off of Rickenbacher Drive? We have no access to the trail or safe access to walk along Royal Palm. How about giving us something, huh?
Gus says
Why are my tax dollars going for this. I don’t live in that area so why should my taxes pay for this. The people who live there should be taxed more for the project. Just like you want to dredge the canals. I don’t use those paths and don’t have a dog.
Flatsflyer says
City puts more emphasis on walking trails than they do on roadways. Something wrong here and I truly believe there have to be financial benefits to the City Council making these decisions and setting priorities. No person with a bit of common sense would make such decisions Only answer is bullshit walks and automobile traffic be dammed.
Joe D says
That’s why there are ELECTIONS. If your representatives are not responsive to your needs (assuming you have told them your concerns in writing), then they should be voted out of office….the American Democracy way. OR, you could RUN for office yourself ( also the American east) and make sure the changes are made
Dutchman says
I’ve lived in the “R” section since 1996 having to use a “Pepp-Tank” which is OK if there is no power outage.
Wouldn’t something like this make more sense………???? I hope to live long enough to see this happen…..