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p lF ' unpaved roads maintained by the county on the barrier island has decreased, the cost to grade the trail has escalated. Currently, the portion of the trail south of 510 is much more heavily traveled than the northern portion. The southern segment serves as access for some residents, accommodates fishermen and other recreational users of the trail, provides a travel -way for sightseers, and is used to some extent as a grove service road. The northern part of Jungle Trail also provides some access for residents, public driving access for active and passive recreation Purposes, and is used extensively as a grove service road. It is anticipated, however, that utilization of the road will change substantially in the future. While the county has au- thorized closing the trail to vehicular traffic through the Polo Club site, other factors will also influence trail traffic. On the northern part of the trail, most of the grove traffic will be eliminated as a result of development. Just the Polo Club and the Town of Orchid will, themselves, will remove hundreds of acres of active citrus groves; other developments being planned in that area will remove even more. On the southern trail, traffic may actually increase due to the attraction of the area as a scenic road. None of the developments bordering the trail, however, will use the roadway for access when alternate roadway access is available. Although paving of the travel -way has been proposed as a way to reduce roadway maintenance cost, that option does not appear feasible. Not only would the present elevation of the roadway require substantial fill, but paving would also necessitate drainage improvements to accommodate road runoff. Both of those factors would affect the appearance of the trail and its buffer area. Besides the construction, itself, stormwater requirements by the water management district might even require the con- struction of even more drainage improvements if paving were to occur. Even though paving of the trail is not a viable option, various activities can be undertaken to enhance the travel -way. While some activities affecting the travel -way relate to shoreline stabilization and erosion control, others relate to specific roadway maintenance. For the roadway, an established grading program and a specific grading plan is needed. The County will undertake the following actions: Install visible markers denoting the limits of the trail maintenance easement. These markers should be visible but nonintrusive. They also may be used as constraints for the grader operator. Grade the trail on a regular basis - at least once every six (6) weeks. Grading should be done more often if necessary. Inspect the traveled way at least once a month. The public works department will conduct an engineering inspection of the trail at least once a month. Based upon that inspection, the public works department will undertake any additional maintenance activities which are necessary. Litter One of the more obvious problems which has occurred along Jungle Trail is littering. As a result of the public use of the trail, trash and debris have been deposited in the buffer area adjacent to the travel -way. In fact, trash can be observed at many points along the trail. This problem is particularly evident along the more frequented portion of the trail - that section south of C.R. 510. -8-