I’m not the only one who sees the Legacy Trail as a local treasure. Go out on the Trail yourself and check out the folks on bicycles, or the walkers and runners and skaters. A lot of them feel the same way.

The Trail can only be navigated at human speed. At this pace, with no car in sight, time and space seem to bend as you make your way from Sarasota to Osprey to Laurel and Nokomis, and over the new pedestrian bridge to Venice. You have to leave your car behind, but you will be rewarded.

That is why I’m happy to report that our plumbers in Osprey recently completed phase 1 of our project to bring water to the Legacy Trail. We have installed a water line from the eastern end of Bay Street to a soon-to-be-installed water fountain for Trail users. Our work was permitted and included the installation of a hulking 2″ backflow preventer at the meter.

All of our labor was donated as part of an on-going  commitment to pay it forward in our community.

This work would not be completed without the help of others, including Dennis Marlin, who donated his time and equipment, saving us hours of shovel work. Big credit is also due the Friends of Legacy Trail who dreamed up this idea and furnished all of the materials. Special thanks to hard working visionary members Bruce Dillon, Steve Christian and president Mike Gippert (who managed to glue his feet to the ground!).