- April 26, 2024
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With school starting in just a few weeks, students attending Tomoka Elementary now have a new way to get to class.
The Forest Hills Trail, a concrete sidewalk beginning at the western end of Scottsdale Drive and proceeding along Misner's Creek to Old Tomoka Road, was completed in April of this year. Its construction was spurred on by a 2008 River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization, then called the Volusia TPO, study on school bicycle and pedestrian safety followed by the discontinuation of bus service to Tomoka Elementary students living in the Forest Hills neighborhood due to budget cuts, City Engineer Shawn Finley said. City document state that the time of the study, 351 Tomoka Elementary school students lived within the study area, and about 70 walked or rode bikes to school.
Without the trail, students walking to biking to school needed to travel on Nova Road and Granada Boulevard for more than 1 mile. The project was placed in the five-year plan by the City Commission in 2011, and construction by JD Weber Construction Co. began in October of 2018. The trail was opened in April.
Shawn Finley, who was recently promoted to city engineer upon John Noble's retirement, said the trail makes this area of the city accessible to residents once again.
“I’ve talked to people who grew up in the area and they tell stories of how they used to walk along the creek bank as children, and I think it really opens it up similarly to a linear park," Finley said.
The trail solves the initial problem of providing students with a safer route to school, and provides a new amenity, he added.
The cost of the trail amounted to just under $580,000. The project was 90% funded by the Department of Transportation, which provided $459,185 in funds. The city provided design services, valued at $51,811, and footed the remainder of the cost, at a total of $120,572.
Other TPO applications for additional trails and sidewalks for Ormond Beach are currently in the works, Finley said. The city is also seeking to extend sidewalks north on U.S. 1, though that project has yet to reach the design phase. However, the sidewalks in front of Tomoka Elementary could soon be reworked, as that project is in design now.
“We really recognize the fact that people are wanting to walk and bike and we’re looking for any opportunities we can to bring projects like this for residents to be able to do that," Finley said.
