Tag: Trust for Public Lands
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Florida Gulf Coast Trail Making Progress
Florida Gulf Coast Trail Making Progress By now most everyone knows that the rail corridor that will eventually become the Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT) is under contract to be sold. Once complete, BERT will at some point connect to the John Yarbrough Trail to the north along with several other trail segments that make…
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Benefits of Investing in Trails – The Florida Gulf Coast Trail
Benefits of Investing in Trails – The Florida Gulf Coast Trail Investing in community-centered infrastructure projects such as the Florida Gulf Coast Trail, (Tampa / St. Pete to Naples), are well worth it. Trails produce financial returns on the investment many times over and provide significant intangible benefits that improve our community’s quality of life.…
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Tell Us Your Story
Tell Us Your Story I was very fortunate to meet the young lady pictured in this article in 2022 when meeting with Charles Hines from Trust for Public Land to do a video on the Legacy Trail in Sarasota. She told Charles and I her story about how the opening of the Legacy Trail extension…
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Seminole Rail Agreement Details
Seminole Rail Agreement Details The rail corridor that Seminole Railway has agreed to sell is 14.9 miles in length and 130’ wide for nearly of the corridor’s length. The southernmost point of the corridor is in Collier County beginning roughly at Wiggins Pass Road then running 1.5 mile to the Lee/Collier County border to the…
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What Happens Next
We Have a Deal – What Happens Next? By now many of you may have heard the good news about the future Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT) reaching another major milestone. Seminole Gulf Railway and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) have reached an agreement on the sale of the Bonita-Estero rail corridor for use…
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Gulfshore Business Article on BERT
Gulfshore Business – Bonita Estero Rail Trail project boosted by $82M land deal Read Katiuska Carrillo’s story on February 23rd on the $82M land deal including interviews with Trust for Public Land’s Doug Hattaway and Friends of BERT president Deb Orton.
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BERT In-the-News
BERT In-the-News Naples Daily News Read the story in the Naples Daily News by J. Kyle Foster regarding Seminole Gulf Railway reaching an agreement with Trust for Public Land on the sale of the BERT railway corridor paving the way for a multi-use trail and greenway. Titled Bonita Estero Rail to Trail Closer to Reality.…
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ConnectLee
Let’s ConnectLee! Imagine a linear park and greenway that extends from the Lee/Collier County border, all the way north to the Lee/Charlotte County border. We at Friends of Bonita Estero Rail Trail call that effort…ConnectLee! While we advocate for BERT, we know our 14.9-mile linear park and trail is part of a larger trail network that…
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Feasibility Study Approved!
Feasibility Study Approved! On March 17th a big milestone was met. The Lee County MPO Board unanimously approved the feasibility study, bringing us one step closer to making this Rail to Trail a reality. Friends of BERT packed the MPO meeting with at least 35 Friends sporting BERT shirts, 13 of whom gave 3-minute presentations during the public…
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BERT MAKING PROGRESS: Feasibility Study wrapping up and Design Phase to begin!
BERT MAKING PROGRESS: Feasibility Study wrapping up and Design Phase to begin! The Lee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is making the rounds and gaining acceptance of the two-year feasibility study. These presentations culminate on March 17th at the MPO Policy Board meeting in Fort Myers. Please attend if you can, and wear your BERT shirt. We’d…