JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Riverside’s Memorial Park is a beloved local landmark where people relax on blankets or enjoy a walk. For walking and biking enthusiasts, segment three of the Emerald Trail offers an exciting new option to do just that.
Segment three of Riverside’s Emerald Trail will feature new walkable paths, enhanced green spaces and a proposed road diet to improve pedestrian safety and connectivity.
“We’re expanding our capacity as we start delivering more and more segments of the trail,” said Dylan Ford, landscape architect and project manager at Groundwork Jacksonville.
The organization, which is a nonprofit with 10 employees, leads the Emerald Trail project, aiming to connect 14 historic communities to downtown Jacksonville, Hogans Creek, McCoys Creek and the St. Johns River by 2031.
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The Riverside Link, which is one of the planned segments of the trail, will be a 2.3-mile walkable and bikeable path that begins at Memorial Park. It turns at the Fuller Warren Bridge, winds through neighborhoods and ends at McCoys Creek.
Part of the trail has already been activated underneath the bridge, running alongside the Artist Walk Skate Park.
“It was master-planned,” Ford said. “Fortunately, we were able to work in the design of the trail with the revitalization of this space underneath I-95.”
Ford confirmed the design for segment three is about 30% complete. Renderings illustrate open paths with abundant plants, benches and convenient access.
The project, however, faced challenges when the city lost a $147 million federal grant after President Donald Trump signed his budget bill.
Despite this setback, officials have emphasized that the project will continue moving forward.
“This will be funded by the gas tax,” Ford said. “JTA is our main partner in this project, and in speaking with them, we’re committed to delivering segment three and segment four on schedule the way we have been.”
Currently, pedestrians have to cross four lanes to reach the other side of Riverside Avenue. In addition to the trail, a proposed road diet aims to narrow the road from the Fuller Warren Bridge to Memorial Park.
Ford said this will slow down traffic, create more pedestrian space and add more trees.
“More room for the trail, more room for bigger shade trees,” He said. “That road diet is our key strategy for traffic calming and making the trail more comfortable.”
The Riverside Link ends at Hollybrook Park near McCoys Creek, connecting to segment 10 of the Emerald Trail.