St. Johns County neighborhood divided over revived 3-mile walking trail project

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — On Wednesday night, neighbors in St. Augustine South formed a long line outside the clubhouse where St. Johns County leaders were showcasing new designs for a 3-mile walking trail that’s getting another push for development.

Neighbors waiting in the line were voting on two options: whether to say the trail is good to go, or whether it should be given a no.

Action News Jax has been telling you about the plan to build a walking trail on Shore Drive for the last few years. St. Johns County has planned for the $1.8 million trail to connect the Doug Crane and Moultrie Creek boat ramps. We reported in 2024 when county commissioners approved the project, then, in 2025, denied the necessary funding to build it.

Now that the county is hoping to approve it again, with some changes to the design, there are still some people in St. Augustine South who believe it will be bad for the neighborhood.

“For me, it’s not a good idea,” said Bruce Milliken, who has lived on Shore Drive for 13 years, “it’s actually a hazard, and will create more of a hazard for pedestrians.”

Milliken doesn’t just believe an asphalt trail would be harmful to the environment; he argues that paving a new path for people to walk near traffic could be dangerous. But some of his neighbors, like Matthew Moss, feel the opposite.

“Sometimes it’s not safe right now for everyday pedestrians,” said Moss, a 16-year-long resident of the neighborhood, “you have to dodge people while you drive, and they have to dodge traffic while walking on the road.”

Shore Drive doesn’t have any sidewalks, so Moss feels like a trail would create a safer option for people to walk through the neighborhood or between the boat ramps.

While St. Johns County Commissioner Clay Murphy spoke against the project last year, he told Action News Jax on Wednesday that he isn’t taking a side.

“This is up to the neighborhood. I mean, there’s compelling arguments on both sides of this,” Murphy said.

St. Johns County has changed the plans for the trail to now be five feet wide, instead of the original eight feet. The county has an online survey for neighbors to share their thoughts on the trail, which can be found here.

After the survey ends on March 1st, the trail proposal will go back to St. Johns County commissioners for another consideration.