Construction of Lincoln Yard Trail hopes to be halted by southeast Gainesville residents

Residents of Lincoln Estates hope to halt construction of the Lincoln Yard Trail by meeting with city of Gainesville officials to redesign the blueprint of the trail approved in October.

The proposed project includes development of a new linear park to be constructed on the east side of the Lincoln Estates neighborhood, spanning from Southeast 10th Place to Southeast  Eighth Avenue, within city-owned property.

The project will be paid for with funds from the Wild Spaces and Public Places program and the city of Gainesville’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Officials announced that the project, located at 2099 SE Eighth Ave., will begin this winter.

However, longtime Lincoln Estates resident Doris Edwards, 76, said she and other residents were blindsided by the recent approval of the designs for the trail, which is not what most residents are seeking.

Edwards said she was born and raised in Gainesville and has lived in Lincoln Estates since it was created when she was 13.

“I’m not happy that this has been done the way it has been set up because everyone has my number,” Edwards said. “We were promised that we would get that land and that we could do something that would help the neighborhood.”

Edwards said she wished another $3 million to $4 million was invested into the Lincoln Yard project.

According to The Gainesville Sun, there was a basic expenditure summary presented at the city of Gainesville meeting in September that showed $22 million going to parks, recreation and cultural affairs, almost $45 million to police and $44 million to public works.

“When you disperse money like that, a percentage of it should come this way (east Gainesville),” Edwards said. “I don’t want to fight, but I will if I have to.”

Community leader wants trail linked to T.B. McPherson Park

She said she wanted the trail to link back to T.B. McPherson Park and other trails in the surrounding area and to be named after the late Phil Emmer, the man who built Lincoln Estates, Carver Gardens and Kennedy Homes.

Lincoln Estates and Carver Gardens are still housing staples in southeast Gainesville, while the property that formerly housed Lincoln Estates is now home to the Heartwood subdivision that is comprised of 34 homes being built on the former site of the Kennedy Homes housing project at 1721 SE Eighth Ave., which once housed approximately 450 residents before it was found to be inhabitable two decades ago.

The new homes range in price from $200,000 to $450,000 and feature quartz countertops, an open floor plan, stainless-steel appliances, hardwood flooring, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Community leader has been working on trail for more than 20 years

Edwards, longtime chairwoman of the Lincoln Estates Neighborhood Watch Committee, said she has been working on the trail for over 20 years, and she provided a rendition created in 2001 of what residents wanted.

The rendition was created by Martin Gold, an associate professor in the University of Florida’s School of Architecture.

She also provided five other renditions to the city in the following years, Edwards said.

Helping teens: Club, Lincoln Estates helps teens to heal

“We need to be treated fairly according to the law and that’s to go back where we were with the renditions that we made while we were working on this project,” Edwards said. “Finish those renditions and find funding so we can have what was promised to us in 2001 when the city of Gainesville came to our neighborhood and dug big retention ponds without notifying anyone in this neighborhood.”

The 2001 rendering showcases an aviary garden, recreation pavilion, fitness ecology, civic living room, north view civic foyer and more, Edwards said.

“The rendition for this small walk trail is nothing like what we requested over the last 20 years — nothing like it,” Edwards said.

The trail should be a health trail for seniors and the youth, Edwards said.

“The disparities in this area that we kept track of for so long with the help of the Alachua County Health Department are true and those disparities are taking lives, and we think that this can be the change for this neighborhood for longer life,” Edwards said.

The city should go back to the drawing board to design the Lincoln Yard Trail, Edwards said.

Edwards said she saw the updates on the project while watching television and did not agree with the approval.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not call us back to meet with us,” Edwards said. “It has to go back to the drawing board. We’re not looking to be angry with anybody. We’re looking to turn this around. I will consult an attorney if I have to — four or five if I have to.”

Oretha Walker said she has lived on Southeast 10th Place since 1971 near where the playground on the trail will be built, which she opposes.

There is a dark side to parks and they bring crime in the area, Walker said.

The park should be placed in a more populated area to deter any wrongdoing that may happen, Walker said.

Walker said her son, Johnny Walker, was shot and killed at Cynthia Chestnut Park on Sept. 17 and does not want that to happen to anybody else.

“People who won’t do right will be still going to the park after 6 p.m,” Walker said. “A lot of people will be coming and going, trash everywhere. As a homeowner, what’s going to happen to the property value on my home? My son was just killed at a park. I have PTSD whenever I think about a park.”

About Wild Spaces Public Places

The Wild Spaces and Public Places surtax is funded by an Alachua County referendum approved by voters in November 2022. The one-cent sales tax was approved for 10 years and helps pay for land conservation, parks and recreation facilities, affordable housing, fire stations and roads.

The project includes development of a new linear park to be constructed on the east side of the Lincoln Estates neighborhood, spanning from Southeast 10th Place to Southeast Eighth Avenue on city-owned property.

According to Wild Spaces Public Places, the construction will include the creation of a granite aggregate walking trail, new decorative fencing around the stormwater pond and a landscaped entrance featuring wood rail fencing, entrance columns and decorative boulders.

It also will have a small playground with swings, log seating and additional play features. Also, an adult fitness station will be located next to the playground that will feature an incline bench, push up bar, pull up station and more.

Tree pruning and removal, brush clearing and new landscaping also will be completed.

The project — at an estimated $350,000 — is expected to be finished next summer.

Joyner Construction Partners LLC is the general contractor for the work.

Lincoln Estates residents received mailers on the designs of the upcoming yard trail project in mid-to-late October informing residents of the designs, said Betsy Waite, director of Wild Spaces and Public Places.

WSPP held community engagement meetings between 2018-2019 to discuss what residents wanted and Waite said the pandemic and the changes of city managers put the construction process on hold until the project recently received approval to start construction.

There are limitations to what can be placed on the property and planners did their best to meet the needs of the community, Waite said.

“There’s limitations to what could be done at the site and we did the best we can,” Waite said. “Residents said they wanted a large recreation facility and that wouldn’t be appropriate at this location. Hopefully, they will enjoy the trail. There will be a lot more activity in the area. This trail will be for a variety of ages.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Southeast Gainesville residents hope to halt work on Lincoln Yard Trail