JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s downtown revitalization project, the Emerald Trail is getting more than $147 million in federal funds from the Department of Transportation.
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The project will construct 30 miles of trails, greenways, and parks to connect 14 historic neighborhoods to downtown, the St. Johns River, McCoy’s Creek, and Hogans Creek.
Some parts of the Emerald Trail are already complete like the S-Line in the New Town neighborhood. It stretches nearly five miles long.
The goal is to spur economic growth, revitalize the urban core and surrounding neighborhoods, and attract more people to downtown Jacksonville.
Isaac Hall owns a food truck and he parks it along the trail every Tuesday outside the Standard Seed and Feed store on Kings Road.
“It’s been a pickup of business in this area, that’s why we chose this because it’s starting to be more popular,” Hall said.
Congressman Aaron Bean recently announced that Jacksonville will receive $147 million in federal funding for the Emerald Trail.
“It’s to elevate our quality of life to make Jacksonville a safe city, a vibrant city. This also has an economic spark, that there’s going to be coffee shops, there’s going to be cafes, there’s going to be other shopping opportunities along the trail,” Bean said.
The grant money will be distributed to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Bean said they will organize the completion of little over half of the trail.
The DOT is supporting the initiative to help improve safety and walkability in Jacksonville and restore community connectivity in underserved areas, which locals like Isaac are on board with.
“I love Jacksonville. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, I’ve been here all my life. It’s always a good thing to bring more life to the city,” Hall said.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2029.
You can click here to read the master plan of the Emerald Trail.
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