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Copyright May, 2009 - Amelia Island Association
AMELIA ISLAND TRAIL (AIT) – STRATEGIC PLAN
10/2/09
Index and Executive Summary
A. Mission and Goals
To provide safe paths that support walking, running and bicyclists.
To become the best place in Florida to bicycle safely.
B. History (1989 to 2008)
Efforts started in 1989 have shown support from the City and County.
C. Near Term Plan (2009 to 2010)
A master Trail plan has been developed for over 50 miles of paths.
Recent grants from the Federal Government for off-road paths and State plans for 10.5 miles of
on-road bike lanes on coastal A1A have been approved – to be constructed 2nd half of 2010.
City and County improvement proposals are in the process of being considered.
D. Mid-Term Plan (2011-2013)
More bicycling, walking and running support programs to be developed.
E. Long-Term Plan (2014 – 2016)
FDOT will construct 5 miles of off-road paths along A1A on the island.
Possible Fed. Grant for Safe Routes to School for additional off-road paths.
F. AIT Trail part of East Coast Greenway (ECG)
The AIT is one part of a number of community coast trails along the east coast, which will be part
of the East Coast Greenway trail System from Maine to the Florida Keys.
G. AIT Path Summary
A summary of the 8 Amelia Island paths is provided for a total of over 50 miles of paths.
H. AIT Project Team
A list of the 37 members of the AIT project team, and the organizations they represent.
I. AIT Maps
Two maps are attached: One for advanced and one for casual bicyclists. The maps also include street
routes, surface type, and path mileage.
A. AIT MISSION & GOAL
The mission of the Amelia Island Trail (AIT) Project Team is to provide safe paths that support and
encourage pedestrian-friendly modes of transportation such as, walking, running, casual bicycling, and club
bicycling for:
1.
Connection to Amelia Island parks, recreation centers, and beach access.*
2.
Connection between Duval County and St. Marys, GA– as part of the ECG.
3.
Continuous bicycling routes on Northeast FL and Southeast GA trails.
4.
Attraction for tourists and annual vacationers.
5.
Means for healthy outdoor exercise by the community.
6.
Means to reduce traffic and parking problems on a small island.
7.
Paths to schools: High, Middle and Elementary Schools
8.
Statement that Amelia Island is bicycling and pedestrian-friendly.
9.
Unique attraction for potential home buyers.
* The AIT will connect at least 20 parks, recreation centers and beach access points:
1. Amelia Island State Park and Crady Fishing Bridge
2. Amelia Island Plantation (AIP)/ Nassau County public beach access point.
3. Nassau County Burney Park on ocean (between AIP and American Beach)
4. American Beach: beach and American Beach Community Center.
5. County Scott Rd. Beach Access (between American Beach and the Ritz.)
6. Nassau County Orange St. Park off Scott Rd.
7. Kraft Athletic Club on Amelia River off Buccaneer Trail. (Non-Profit)
8. City of Fernandina Beach Golf Club and driving range.
9. City of F.B. Soccer Fields on Bailey Rd. off Amelia Island Pky,
10. A number of city beach access points off A1A/S.Fletcher.
11. City of F.B. Seaside Park at Sadler and A1A/S. Fletcher
12. YMCA - Off Citrona (Non-Profit)
13. F.B. Middle and High School athletic fields.
14. City of Fernandina Beach Egans Creek Greenway
15. City of Fernandina Beach Recreation Center
16. Ft. Clinch State Park
17. City Main Beach and Park on the ocean at Atlantic Ave. and S. Fletcher
18. City of F.B. Park on Atlantic -- with tennis courts and athletic fields.
19. City of Fernandina Beach Marina
20. Amelia River Cruises (Fernandina Beach, FL to St. Marys GA)
AIT GOAL
The number one question asked at the Florida Welcome Centers is: Where is a good place that my family and I
can bicycle safely? By the end of 2010 the Project Team for the AIT aims to have Amelia Island on the list of
good places in Florida to bicycle safely, and in the long run our GOAL is to be the best place in Florida to
bicycle safely. Amelia Island has many natural advantages over other communities to become a bicycle
friendly community including a riding area that is flat and scenic, river views, and access to ocean beaches
along with state parks that have off-road paths. The AIT Project Team plans to use the League of American
Bicyclists criteria and independent assessments for Bicycle Friendly Communities.
B. PHASE I - HISTORY - What has been done. (1989 – 2008)
Efforts to establish a system of trails on and around Amelia Island have been on going for many years. A grass
roots Bicycle Path Planning group was organized in 1989 and a preliminary trail plan prepared. In January and
February of 1990 the plan was presented to local appointed and elected boards. The presentations were well
received and positive action and support for the proposed plan was expressed, but no financial commitment was
given.
In November of 1990, the City of Fernandina Beach amended its Comprehensive Plan to include policies aimed
at promoting the safe integration and utilization of bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Similar bicycle polices
were subsequently included in Nassau County’s Comprehensive Plan.
In 1995 the Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, Yulee Chamber of Commerce sponsored several meetings to
promote a Bicycle/ Pedestrian Friendly Community. The Chamber sponsored seminars on bicycle trails,
roundabouts, and similar pedestrian friendly ideas. The Chamber adopted Resolutions encouraging the City
and County governments to establish Amelia Island and Nassau County as Bicycle/ Pedestrian Friendly
Community for both narrow-wheel bike clubs and wide-wheel casual bicyclists.
Over the last 20 years there has been some progress in providing casual bicycling capabilities: the City and
County undertook major reconstruction of Sadler Road, North 14th Street and Amelia Island parkway to include
delineated bike lanes.
Despite these improvements and an increase in recreational cycling, there was still neither a comprehensive or
recognized trail system for bicyclists on Amelia Island nor a recognized commitment to creating a
Bicycle/Pedestrian Friendly Community.
In 2005 the Amelia Island Conservation and Recreation Advisory Council, formed and led by the Amelia Island
Association (AIA), applied to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, recently renamed the Transportation
Planning Organization (TPO), for federal funding for off-road sections of an Amelia Island Trail (AIT) system
along side the more dangerous sections.
At the same time the East Coast Greenway (ECG) plans were developing to create a trail system from Maine to
the Florida Keys along the east coast. Kevin McCarthy of Fernandina Beach attended one of these initial AIT
and ECG meetings and decided to open up the Cumberland Sound Ferry service, for both pedestrians and
bicyclists, to provide a ferry for pedestrians and bicyclists between Fernandina Beach, FL and St. Marys GA.
This Ferry Service is an official part of both the ECG and the AIT.
C. PHASE II – NEAR-TERM PLAN (2009 to 2010)
Phase II of the AIT will integrate over 35 miles of existing bicycle, running and walking paths and about 15
miles of new paths into an Amelia Island Trail (AIT) system to be available by the end of 2010, 34% of which
would be off-road. This AIT system will use existing roads, sidewalks, an off-road bridge, the City Greenway
compacted earth path trail, the Ft. Clinch State Park Trail system, and the Cumberland Sound Ferry service,
along with a number of important improvements, along A1A and some key county and city roads, needed to
integrate these disconnected path opportunities into a complete Amelia Island Trail system.
Some work has recently been recently completed on the improvements, some has already been funded, and
some work requests for funding are still in progress. The Phase II AIT improvements are aimed at being
completed in time for an AIT connection to the new Timucuan Trail segments in 2011 and to improve Amelia
Island tourist and resident access to trails and paths as soon as possible. This could also help both local tourism
business and the home sales businesses in the near term.
Improved
Est.
Target
Phase II - AIT Improvements
Miles
Cost
Funding
Date
1. New round-about
-
Complete
County
1Q 2009
at 14th and A.I. Pky
2. New 6 ft. sidewalk
1.5 miles
Complete
County
2Q 2009
on 14th St. to Sadler
3. New Boardwalk entrance
2.1 miles
Out to Bid
F.B. City
4Q 2009
to Egans Creek Greenway
4. Study Atlantic Ave. to find
1.6 miles
TBD
FDOT
4Q 2009
a better option than
“Share the Road” from
S. Fletcher to 8th St.
5. Complete A.I. Pky sidewalk
0.2 miles
$10,000 est.
County
2010
6. Signs and Crosswalks -
AIT Route
$ 50,000 est.
City/County
2010
(AIT/ECG and safety)
7. Repave A1A from Crady
10.5 miles
Funded
FDOT
2010
Bridge to Atlantic Ave, ADD: 5 ft. bike lane on
South-end and 4 ft. bike lane on north-end.
(Harris Teeter round-about is the mid-point)
8. New round-about
-
Funded
FDOT
2010
at A1A & Buccaneer Trail
9. Upgrade Crady Bridge/Pier
1.2 miles
TBD
Counties
2010
to Trail standards.
(Duval & Nassau)
D. Phase III – MID-TERM PLAN -Bicycle Community Support (2011-2013)
Work on meeting League of American Bicyclists criteria for Bicycle Friendly
Communities:
Engineering
Education
Encouragement
Enforcement
Evaluation and Planning
E. PHASE IV - LONG-TERM PLAN - Off-Road Improvements (2014 – 2016)
In Phase IV AIT will add off-road sections, along side the more dangerous sections of the AIT, beginning in
2014 using Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) federal funds which have been approved for use on the
AIT. In addition, the AIT Project team plans to work with Nassau Schools to apply for a Safe Routes to School
grant—which could provide funding for additional 2 to 4 miles of off-road funding in 2015, or perhaps even
sooner.
It was critical to the AIT Strategic Plan to first obtain the TPO decision to commit federal funding for the OFF-
ROAD sections of the AIT, recognizing the percent of off-road paths is a critical measure of a good trail
system. With that commitment by the TPO, the AIT Project Team can then approach the Florida FDOT, Nassau
County, the City of Fernandina Beach, and the Nassau County School System with a credible AIT Strategic
Plan along with requests that they work together to help fund proposed trail improvements, in 2009 and 2010,
needed to integrate disconnected paths into a complete Amelia Island Trail.
NEW OFF-ROAD AIT PLANS
Off-Road
Est.
Target
Phase IV AIT Improvement
Miles
Cost
Funding
Date
1. TPO Funds 5.0 miles
5.0
$2.5M TPO
2014/15/16
(Along A1A)
Funded
2. Safe Route to Schools grant
2.0 to 4.0
$1 to 2M Grant
2015
(Along Citrona, Jasmine, + other)
TBD or Earlier
Total new off-road
7.0 to 9.0
$3.5 to 4.5M
A preliminary check on trail per mile costs indicates costs in the range of $440,000 to $500,000 per mile for a
paved 12 ft. wide off-road trail. (Source Herb Hiller, East Coast Greenway Florida Director and Barbara
Goodman, Timucuan Director.)
F. AIT TRAIL- Critical part of East Coast Greenway (ECG)
One important change since the original 2005 AIT proposal to the TPO is the development of the Cumberland
Sound Ferry Service from Fernandina Beach, FL to St. Marys, GA. This ferry provides a safe and scenic
connection for bicyclist, and others, between Florida and Georgia and is part of the East Coast Greenway
(ECG).
In addition, since the submission of the 2005 AIT application, the Timucuan Trail has been planned and has
committed TPO funding for construction in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. That trail will connect from Mayport to
the bridge that connects Talbot Island to Amelia Island at the south end of Amelia Island. This is also an
important segment in the ECG.
It is therefore critical for the AIT, which will also be part of the ECG system, to become the connection
between these two other ECG system segments. The critical main route (Path A –A1A) of the AIT needs to
connect from the Amelia Island south-end bridge to the City of Fernandina Beach Marina on the Amelia River.
TIMUCUAN TRAIL PLANS
Seg.
Name
Distance
Status
Funding
1A
Little Talbot Island
2.1 Miles
Complete
Done
1B
Big Talbot Island
2.8
Design 100%
Bid Prep.
2
Huguenot Connector
2.2
Design 90%
N/A
3
Amelia Island Connector
2.3
Design 90%
TPO 2010/11
partial funding
Future
North
1.6
Design 60%
4
Mayport/Hanna Conn.
4.1
Design 0%
Future
South
1.4
Design 0%
5
Kingsley Conn.
3.5
Design 0%
TOTAL
20.0 Miles
Total complete or funded:
7.2 Miles
ST. MARYS TRAIL – STATUS
The St. Marys, GA Trail is also an important trail section of the ECG just north of Amelia Island; therefore the
status is important to potential users of the Amelia Island Trail. Currently from St. Marys, GA there are dirt
path trails:
Seg.
Name
Distance
Status
Type
1
St. Marys to Colerain
3.3 miles W
Complete
Greenway
2
Colerain to Crooked River
6.6 miles N
Complete
Greenway
3
Crooked River to Rt. 17
7.2 miles W
Complete
Rail Bed
Total
17.1 Miles
G. AIT -- PATH SUMMARY
The key path in the AIT is Path A, which connects Duval County (the Timucuan Preserve) to St. Marys, GA.
The George Crady bridge from Duval County to Amelia Island is 1.2 miles long. It is then 10.5 miles north
along the shore, following A1A/S. Fletcher, and then 1.6 miles west along A1A/Atlantic Ave. to 8th St., where
Centre St. Starts. Centre St. is another 0.4 miles to the Marina. This is a total of 13.7 miles for Path A.
The Path A (A1A) AIT route is 13.7 miles and Path B (Ferry Service) is a 8 mile ferry ride to St. Marys. These
paths will be the main connection between the Timucuan Trail in Duval County, FL and the trails in St. Marys,
GA., an important part of the ECG. Other paths enable connections throughout Amelia Island.
AIT PATH SUMMARRY
PATH/NAME
MILES
CONNECTION
BIKE WHEELS
A
A1A
13.7
Crady Bridge to F.B. Marina
Narrow
B
Ferry Service*
8.0
F.B., FL to St. Marys, GA
Both
C
Side Roads
6.7
A1A/A.I. Pkwy to F.B. Marina
Narrow
D
Ft. Clinch*
6.4
Atlantic Ave. to Ft. Clinch Park
Both
E
1st Ave/Greenway
7.4
A.I. Pkwy to F.B. Marina
Wide
F
Buccaneer Trail
2.7
A.I. Pkwy to A.I. Pky – Loop
Wide
G
Citrona/Schools
2.8
Sadler to Greenway & Atlantic
Wide
H
14th St.
4.5
A.I. Pkwy to Centre St.
Wide
AIT Total
52.2 miles
* The Cumberland Sound Ferry Service has 3 roundtrips per day, except Monday, for $15/RT. Ft. Clinch
State park is open 8 am to sunset and has a $1/person fee.
Existing Off-Road
Bridge 1.2 mi, Ferry Svc. 8.0 mi, Ft. Clinch 6.4 mi, Greenway 2.1 mi. =
17.7 mi
Planned Off-Road
(2) A1A-TPO 5.0 mi, Citrona, Jasmine, other School Grant 2.0 miles =
7.0 mi
Total Off-Road
24.7 mi.
AIT existing off-road
17.7
34%
AIT planned off-road
7 to 9
13% to 17% Beginning 2014
AIT TOTAL OFF-ROAD
24.7 26.7 47% to 51%
The existing and planned improvements, when fully implemented would provide an Amelia Island Trail system
with over 50 miles of paths, of which 47% to 51% would be off-road. That should be a very attractive trail
system for both residents and tourists as well as for many potential new home buyers.
A detailed, road-by-road, description of each path in the AIT is included on 2 AIT maps: 1. Advanced
bicyclists paths and 2. Casual bicyclist’s paths.
Phillip Scanlan, Chair Amelia Island Trail (AIT) Project Team
Amelia Island Association (AIA) Director
H. AIT PROJECT TEAM (37 members)
Federal Government
Barbara Goodman
Director of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
State of Florida
Larry Williams
Assistant to State Rep. Janet Adkins
Austin Chapman
FDOT
Doreen Joyner-Howard
FDOT
Peter Scalco
Ft. Clinch State Park Director
Robert Joseph
Talbot Island State Park, Director
Eric Steffey
Talbot Island State Park, Assistant Director
Brooke George
Talbot Island State Park, Ranger
Robin Turner
DEP Office of Greenways and Trails (OGT)
North Florida Transportation Planning Org. (TPO)
Jeff Sheffield
Planning Director
Elizabeth DeJesus
Trail Coordinator
Nassau County
Danny Leeper
County Commissioner
Daniel Salmon
Parks and Building Director
Tim Milligan
Parks and Rec.
Walter Fufidio
Growth Planning Director
Scott Herring
Engineering Director
Pat Keogh
Planning and Zoning Board
Nassau County Schools
Kevin Burnette
Facilities Director
City of Fernandina Beach
Susan Steger
Mayor and City Commissioner
Nan Voit
Beach Parks and Recreation Manager
Marshall McCrary
Planning Director
Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau
Gil Langley
President & CEO
Florida Public Utilities (FPU)
Louie Johnson
FPU Chief Engineer
Bill Grant
FPU Engineer
Amelia Island Plantation
Bill Moore
AIP Development Director
Joe Simon
Amelia River Cruises & Cumberland Sound Ferry
Kevin McCarthy
Owner and Operator
East Coast Greenway (ECG)
Herb Hiller
ECG Florida Coordinator
Eric Weis
ECG Staff
Steven Davis
Volunteer
Nassau Community Trails
Mike Pikula
NCT President
Trust for Public Lands (TPL)
Susan Grandin
TPL Regional Director
Bicycle Advocates
Bob Wells
Jerry Gardner
Ric Borum
Amelia Island Association
Phil Scanlan
AIA Director
and Chairperson -AIT Project Team
Peter Johnson
AIA Director
