The Village of Pinecrest is building one project along Kendall Drive and releasing it in pieces. An 8-foot shared-use path opened in April. Six raised paver crosswalks, tentatively set to begin Monday, October 26, go in where that path meets the side streets. Gary Matzner Park, a 3.76-acre site at the Village's northern entrance, is the block the path has been waiting on. The crossings exist because of the path, and the path's last stretch depends on the park.
The Path Came First, and It Stops at 65th Court for a Reason
The Village cut the ribbon on Kendall Linear Park on April 8, 2026. The project replaced a 5-foot sidewalk with an 8-foot shared-use path from Red Road to SW 65th Court, according to the June 2026 Pinecrest Sun.
The extra three feet of width is what makes it a shared-use path: walkers and cyclists can now use the same strip. The Village's newsletter says the path connects Gulliver Prep and Temple Beth Am to a protected route away from traffic. It also ties into Red Road Linear Park, the Old Cutler Trail and the Howard Drive Path, so the Kendall Drive segment joins routes that already run south and east through the Village.
The trees went in big. The Public Works Director personally picked 73 mature trees for the corridor, including live oaks and gumbo limbos that stand 26 feet tall, and pigeon plums and Simpson's stoppers were planted beneath them as understory. In a project like this, starting at full height means the canopy is there from the first day.
The path ends at SW 65th Court because the land between there and SW 67th Avenue is the park site. The June newsletter says that once Gary Matzner Park is complete, Kendall Linear Park will extend to SW 67th Avenue, "completing continuous connectivity from the Village's northern boundary."
Why the Side Streets Are Getting Pavers
A continuous path still has to cross every residential street that meets Kendall Drive. The six new crossings go at those points. The Village's October 13 traffic notice describes six paver-accented raised crosswalks "where neighborhood streets meet the new shared-used path."
The Village gives two reasons for them. The raised surface makes walkers and cyclists more visible to drivers turning in and out of the side streets. The decorative pavers mark a gateway into the neighborhoods behind Kendall Drive.
Each crosswalk should take about a month. Work was tentatively set to begin October 26, in this order:
| Order | Location | Timing note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SW 64th Court | Tentative start Oct 26 |
| 2 | SW 63rd Court | Follows 64th Court |
| 3 | SW 62nd Court | Follows 63rd Court |
| 4 | SW 61st Court | Follows 62nd Court |
| 5 | SW 60th Avenue | Begins after January 1 |
| 6 | SW 65th Court | Built in phases, last in sequence |
At roughly a month per crossing, the full sequence runs well into next year. The Village adds that dates may shift with weather and field conditions, so treat the table as an order of work rather than a calendar.
SW 65th Court comes last, and that fits the corridor's logic. It is where the current path ends and where the park begins, so the crossing there joins the finished path to the extension.
The Park Is the Missing Block
Gary Matzner Park sits on the southeast corner of Kendall Drive between SW 67th Avenue and SW 65th Court. The Village's facility page gives the address as 6610 North Kendall Drive. The site was two parcels known as the Palermo Property, and the Village Council approved buying it on March 9, 2021.
The name honors the late Gary C. Matzner, Pinecrest's second mayor, who the September 2026 Pinecrest Sun says is widely known as the founding father of the Village. Putting his name on the park at the Village's northern entrance means it is the first civic place many drivers pass coming into Pinecrest from the north.
According to the Village's capital project page, the Council approved a conceptual design in May 2023. The final design includes:
- Large open spaces and natural play areas
- A covered playground
- A walking path
- A restroom shelter
- Parking
- Preservation of numerous specimen trees
- A park gateway welcoming residents and guests at the Village's northern entrance
- All-native landscaping meant to form a canopy around the gathering areas
Construction began in August 2025, and the project page lists October 2026 as the expected opening. The September newsletter used the broader "fall 2026." Opening dates on public projects tend to move, so the Village's website is the place to check for a ribbon cutting before you plan a visit.
The park matters to the corridor beyond its own acreage. The path extension to SW 67th Avenue is tied to the park's completion, so a covered playground and a restroom shelter will sit right on the walking route.
Getting In and Out While Crews Work
The traffic notice is direct: pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be closed in each affected area during construction. A month per crossing is long enough to change the daily drive for the homes on each street, so here is how access works according to the Village:
- SW 60th Avenue through SW 64th Court: residents have alternate access via SW 92nd Street while their crossing is closed.
- SW 65th Court: this crosswalk will be built in phases so access to the street's cul-de-sac stays open.
- Notice at the door: the Village is delivering informational doorhangers to affected homes.
- On the road: the Village asks drivers to slow down near the work zone, follow signs and flaggers, and watch for crews and pedestrians.
- Questions: Pinecrest Public Works can be reached at 305-669-6916.
For anyone on 64th Court, 63rd Court, 62nd Court or 61st Court, the order of work matters more than the start date. Your closure comes in sequence, about a month after the street before it, so you can roughly estimate your turn by counting from late October. If weather or field conditions push one crossing back, everything after it moves too.
Where the Line Goes After 67th Avenue
The Kendall Drive corridor is the northern leg of a larger plan. The Village's Ludlam Road Shared Use Path calls for an 8-foot asphalt path along SW 67th Avenue from Snapper Creek to SW 136th Street, with drainage grading and landscaping. The Village awarded the design contract on April 8, 2025, and expects design and permitting to be finished in April 2027. The project page does not list a construction start date.
When it is built, the Ludlam Road path would meet the Kendall Drive path near Gary Matzner Park and carry the same 8-foot standard south along the Village's western side.
The Village's 2025–30 Strategic Plan also looks north. It describes the 67th Avenue path linking to the Snapper Creek Trail, which connects to The Underline. The plan notes that the Village path ends at the Snapper Creek Canal and that the county is working with Pinecrest on a northward extension.
The same plan mentions a possible waterfront pocket park on underutilized right-of-way beside the canal at 67th Avenue. It lists a 2026 target, but its detailed text describes the pocket park as an opportunity to be investigated, so it is not a scheduled project yet.
If you live along the Kendall Drive edge and want to talk through how the new path, the crossings and Gary Matzner Park affect your corner of the Village, Surelis Yanes follows these projects street by street and is happy to help, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.
