SARASOTA – Sarasota County voters will extend the Legacy Trail and reopen Beach Road.
By more than a two-to-one margin, Sarasota County voters created their own legacy as they paved the way for a Legacy Trail extension that will very nearly connect one end of the county to the other. This charter amendment asked voters to approve borrowing $65 million for the nine-mile connection to Payne Park in downtown Sarasota.
The Beach Road amendment will require the county to reopen a 373-foot-long section of the Siesta Key road that was closed in 2016. The vote means the county can never close it again. Voters also approved a procedural change for citizen petitions that increases the signature requirement from 5 to 10 percent of registered voters and imposes a start date for a petition signature.