St. Augustine’s Shore Drive Trail project is dead, again.
After a series of meetings with local residents, the St. Johns County Commission ended the two-year debate about whether to create a five-foot-wide, multi-use pedestrian path between the Doug Crane Boat Ramp and the Moultrie Boat Ramp to improve pedestrian safety, provide ADA accessibility and enhance access to waterfront views.
Because there is no sidewalk along Shore Drive, the path was proposed as a safety measure to move pedestrians and cyclists out of the winding, busy, two-lane road. The initiative, which was introduced in March 2024, was credited to former Commissioner Paul Waldron’s advocacy for equal access, safety and ensuring ADA accessibility. Waldron died in October 2022.
Residents who opposed the trail argued there was potential for property damage, increased congestion, the view blockage for waterfront homes, the possibility of urban development and the destruction of the area’s natural environment.
Originally given the green light, the project was terminated last year by a 3-2 vote of commissioners. Clay Murphy who currently serves as chair, recently reintroduced the project as an agenda item. The item included a two-week survey issued by the county that ended March 1. The no’s ranked at 79%.
At the March 3 meeting, Commissioner Sarah Arnold, a supporter of the project since the onset, described the board’s discussions about The Paul Waldron Park and the Shore Drive Trail as “hypocrisy” and “NIMBYism,” a term meaning “Not in my backyard.” She said it shouldn’t be a an either/or decision between the trail and the park.
“Both are countywide parks intended to serve all county residents, and both should move forward,” she said.
Arnold voted in favor of the project.
Christian Whitehurst, who has never deviated from supporting the project for safety reasons, voted yes.
“For the reasons I stated time and time again with love in my heart, I am trying to do the right thing for people who need the trail; for people who cannot walk in the grass,” he said.
Commissioner Krista Joseph said of those who didn’t want their kids not to have sidewalks, “then don’t move over there.”
“You have choices,” she said at meeting. “I can’t sit there and tell people to be safe. I can’t help someone who wants to run down the middle of the road. I would love to tell them, we have a sidewalk, get off the road. I can’t be a Karen; you have to be responsible for yourselves.”
Joseph also said that infrastructure of any kind would ruin “the most amazing park I’ve ever seen.”
Before Murphy cast the vote that terminated the project, saying “this trail has to die, and it’s going to die today,” he expressed anger at sellingyouout.com, a website he described as “a bunch of crap,” filled with offensive and misleading information.
Earlier in the meeting, Arnold described the website as garbage, calling it a forum filled with lies and misinformation. She disputed its claim that it was prepared by a South Shore resident.
Whitehurst addressed the website as absurd propaganda. Whitehurst said denying the trail will encourage people to “use these tactics to get what they want.”
“We should not fold when under this kind of pressure when these tactics are being employed,” he said.
Whitehurst asked Mike Roberson, director off the county’s growth management department, and Ryan Kane, director of parks and recreation, about a series claims by the website that the trail would attract big business, increase residential density, spike property taxes and liability and flood insurance rates. Kane and Roberson told commissioners it would not.
Commissioner Ann Taylor later told the St. Augustine Record that she voted against the project to prioritize the will of the residents directly impacted by it.
“This neighborhood has been torn apart,” she said via email. “I am proud to be a part of putting this project finally to rest.”
Murphy said the end of the project could finally bring peace to the neighborhood.
“The trail began as a good idea, but over the years its controversy drove an angry wedge between residents of that wonderful neighborhood,” Murphy told the St. Augustine Record in an email. “The time is now for healing, reconciliation, compassion and cooperation. Any future changes to the beautiful green space must be community, not government driven.”
The money for the trail, which was estimated to cost $1.1 million, will now be reallocated to build The Paul Waldron Park formerly known as the San Sebastian Boat Ramp.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Shore Drive Trail project in St. Augustine is dead, again
Reporting by Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record / St. Augustine Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
