Today, Councilman Boylan officially acknowledged in his resident update what many of us have been warning about for months: the original Mandarin Road sidewalk expansion plan is facing serious financial limitations.

According to today’s update, the project has now officially been scaled back from Red Cypress to Brady Road due to rising costs, environmental concerns, and insufficient funding. Additional federal funding requests did not make it into FY26 or FY27 budgets . 

That is a significant development.

But let’s be clear — this fight is NOT over.

The current plan still allows construction to move forward as far as remaining funds permit, potentially reaching Brady Road. Many residents remain deeply concerned about the impact to Mandarin Road’s historic canopy, drainage, wetlands, wildlife, and scenic character from Red Cypress to Brady . 

This petition and this community effort absolutely made a difference. Public pressure matters. Resident voices matter.

Now is NOT the time to slow down.

Please continue sharing the petition, inviting neighbors, contacting officials, and keeping public attention on this issue. The future vision of Mandarin should be shaped by the community ,  not decided quietly through scaled-back versions of the same project.

We are making progress, but we are not finished. Thank you to everyone . We have some fantastic Mandarin and Duval residents who love this road, because it’s a treasure !  So let’s keep it that way !