SARASOTA, Fla. — The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office has increased the number of deputies assigned to patrol the Legacy Trail.
The Legacy Trail is a more than 20-mile corridor stretch of trail between Sarasota and North Port where people can walk, run and bike.
But recently, problems on the trail have caused a new need for elevated security and safety awareness not just for users of the trail, but motorists as well.
Pedestrians and cyclists encounter speeding vehicles at various intersections and they also have to walk across isolated wooded areas at some parts of the trail. According to a spokesperson, deputies are routinely responding to calls for service on or near the trail.
Some of the issues of primary concern revealed by the call include vehicle versus pedestrian or bicycle crashes occurring within the crosswalk.
"Major concerns with me is probably these E-bikes. They don't really have the etiquette of riding down path and they kind of blow past you at a pretty high rate of speed without warning and that's kind of dangerous, especially when there's a lot of people out here," Keith McLaughlin of Sarasota said.
A variety of random petty crimes have also been reported on the trail or at trailhead parking lots. According to deputies and neighbors and trail users, they are also concerned about homeless encampments in the woods along the trail.
"This park area, most of the time probably with a good 10 to 15 people out here," Vladimir Belshev, also of Sarasota County, said.
"Some of the new ones, yes I'm concerned about. You know, they'll come up to me asking me to do something for money and whatnot and I kind of just ignore them," Adria Gutierrez, a charter boat operator in Venice, said.
"We do have homeless encampments that we've received complaints about and we address that with sheriff's office homeless outreach team," Lt. Donnie Kennard with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said.
Kennard, who is with the community services department, said the goal is to be proactive, prevent mishaps and deter crime.
During the campaign, deputies are going to focus on high visibility education and enforce and encourage the effective use of safety features built into the trail. Deputies mounted on horses will also be among the law enforcement presence along the Legacy Trail alongside deputies in patrol units stationed at intersections.
"The signage is there. We just encourage people to slow down, read the signs, obey the signs and just look out for those cyclists and walkers who are there and vice versa," Kennard said.
Deputies are using analytical crime and traffic data to focus their enforcement and public education efforts on areas designated as problem points.