11-mile loop to connect Coral Springs to Everglades levee secures $800K in funds

The process of creating a nearly 11-mile walking and biking trail that would link Coral Springs to the Everglades has hit a milestone with new funding.

City Manager Catherine Givens shared on the city podcast that Coral Springs officials recently learned the Everglades Memorial Loop project would be awarded $800,000 from an appropriations request.

The city previously received $300,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act and $750,000 from another appropriation cycle, according to a city spokesperson. The entire project is expected to cost $21.1 million.

The 10.7-mile loop will connect the conservation levee trail on the west side of the Sawgrass Expressway canal to the rest of Coral Springs via the existing trailhead at Atlantic Boulevard and a proposed overpass at Wiles Road.

The path will run south from Wiles to Sportsplex Drive, along Royal Palm Boulevard, Coral Ridge Drive and Lakeview Drive before connecting with the southern point at Atlantic.

The juncture at Royal Palm Boulevard is part of the city’s proposed mobility and connectivity improvements, which will be funded by the penny tax approved by Broward voters to raise funds for transportation projects.

The proposed changes along the road include slimming vehicle lanes by 1 foot and widening the current sidewalks to an 8-foot-wide path for shared use with pedestrians and cyclists.

The Everglades Memorial Loop is split into nine segments, including existing sidewalks, a proposed 10-foot floating dock over the Sunshine Water Control Districts canal and a pedestrian bridge over the Sawgrass Expressway at Wiles. A three-story lookout tower has also been approved for construction along Sportsplex Drive.

Givens commended city staff for writing the appropriations request that secured the funding.

“I really applaud staff in the amount of detail,” the city manager said. “It is important to have a grants package that is appealing, that there is a true purpose for and that the entire community in South Florida would provide benefit for.”

The city is now pushing for priority status from the Florida Office of Greenways and Trails to help the project receive additional funding.