Tallahassee residents are rallying behind a push for a public 400-meter track after Leon County Schools closed its tracks to the public in June due to misuse. Some of those tracks are also closed for renovations, leaving community members without a dedicated place to run, walk, and train.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Tallahassee residents push for public 400-meter track after school tracks close to community
Romeko Card is leading the effort, arguing that Tallahassee needs a public track option that is not tied to a school or university.
“I just want it to be a space where our community can come don’t have to be affiliated with a school or university just a safe space for us to, you know, to get out and get become more active,” Card said.
Kelvin Frazier is among those supporting Card’s initiative.
He says the lack of accessible tracks with rubberized surfaces has made it difficult for residents to exercise safely.
“We can’t go outside well, we can go outside but finding a track with the rubber grounding to help for the impact of the knees, we can’t really find that because a lot of the tracks are closed,” Frazier said.
Frazier says a public track would benefit more than just runners.
“Some of the senior citizens, they find it a lot safer to go outside and to just walk, because walking is everything. Movement is everything. So, that’s why it’s very important to have a community track in the community,” Frazier said.
Card says he has spoken with local leaders and that potential locations have been discussed, though no commitment to build a track has been made.
“So, when I spoke with the director over Leon County Parks and Rec, she did indicate that they did do a study that it could be possibly done at the Apalachee Regional Park. Also, she did indicate that maybe because of the fairgrounds and how that, you know, is thinking about that particular space,” Card said.
Leon County Parks and Recreation did not respond to a request to confirm that information before publication.
Card’s next step is demonstrating enough community interest to formally explore whether building a public track is feasible.
He has launched an online public track initiative, click here to view.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.