St. Johns County locals share preferred developments for future county parks

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — On Tues., Jan 31, residents of St. Johns County are going to get the chance to have a say in the planning and future development of county parks. Action News Jax spoke with some locals who expressed what it is they want to see most and why.

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St. Johns County residents are going to be at The Trout Creek Park Pavilion for an open house, talking about the county’s “master plan for parks.”

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It’s an idea, made up of thoughts by locals, on what future county parks should look like and entail.

According to St. Johns County Parks and Recreation, back in February of 2019 a three-year-long “master plan” on what future county parks should look like was completed. However, those plans haven’t been updated since then.

St. Johns County residents we spoke with are excited for the park plans. Heather Braund says she’s interested in mobile eateries.

“We really enjoy community events like food trucks for example, so we like to see that once a month like a food truck Friday,” Heather Braund said.

Read: St. Johns County Commissioners consider property tax increase

Tonight, locals can express how they’d like to advance the design of 163 acres meant to upgrade four new parkland sites. They include Nocatee, Northwest, Shearwater and Silverleaf.

Lia Perkins is from Puerto Rico, but she has been raised in St. Johns County for the majority of her life. She loves city living.

“We have more gas stations and more stores and Targets and all those things and that’s fine,” Lia Perkins said.

But when it comes to building a local park, Lia thinks urban developments have taken over. She wants to see more nature friendly activities in all four future county parks.

“I’m okay with moving forward and having new things but I’m not okay with destroying the environment for another gas station,” Lia Perkins said.

Read: St. Johns County launches new app to aid recycling efforts

“I like a little bit of everything so I think they could R&B festivals, I think they could do 90′s festivals. I know sometimes in St. Augustine people try to do things like that but there’s not much space,” Lia Perkins said.

In the past some of the features locals said they would like to have are dog parks, nature trails, drinking fountains and playgrounds.

“My kids are both really into cross fit so they would absolutely love some sort of outdoor equipment,” Heather Braund said.

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This year’s updated “master plan” will be based off of community input, site evaluations and surveys. Click here for that information.