New Sarasota Trail Connection Opens at Payne Park, Adding Momentum to Florida Gulf Coast Trail Vision
Sarasota, FL – A new link in Sarasota’s growing trail network opened this week, giving the broader Florida Gulf Coast Trail vision another local step forward. On March 31, the City of Sarasota celebrated the completion of the Alderman Multi-Use Recreational Trail (MURT), a new east-west connector at Payne Park that ties into The Legacy Trail.
The new connector runs along the southern portion of Payne Park from School Avenue to South Payne Parkway, with the ribbon-cutting held at the Bowman Court and South Payne Parkway trailhead, just south of First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota. While the path is only a little more than 0.2 miles, city officials describe it as a key connection point for bicyclists and pedestrians moving between neighborhoods, downtown, and the larger trail system.
The opening comes just days after Sarasota County marked another nearby milestone: a new half-mile connector between Beneva Road and Fruitville Road that officials said represents a key piece of the planned 420-mile Florida Gulf Coast Trail, the regional route intended to link Tampa Bay to Naples across seven counties. That connector improves access between multiple public parks and helps trail users reach the city’s Circus Trail, Bobby Jones Golf Club and Conservation Area, 17th Street Park, and Nathan Benderson Park.
Taken together, the new Payne Park connection and the Beneva-Fruitville segment show how Sarasota continues to build out local pieces of a much bigger regional trail system. For readers who followed our earlier coverage of the proposed 420-mile Florida Gulf Coast Trail, this week’s opening is another real-world sign that the long-range concept is steadily becoming more connected on the ground.
