Tampa Bay area trails from Sarasota to St. Petersburg to Tampa are becoming more user friendly.
Plans are underway to build the
Legacy Trail Pedestrian Overpass in
Sarasota. The overpass will connect existing segments of Legacy Trail
located on opposite sides of the U.S. 41 Bypass. The bridge will create a
12-foot path over the road and access sidewalks along the bypass. In
addition, pedestrian bridges were recently completed that cross the Dona
and Roberts bays along the Legacy Trail.
In
St. Petersburg, the
34th Street Pinellas Trail Bridge
is now open for bicyclists and pedestrians crossing 34th Street in
South St. Pete. The project is a cooperative effort between Pinellas
County and the city of St. Petersburg.
"It is an exceptional opportunity for the area and good for
Gibbs High School, says Scott Daniels, president of
Pinellas Trails, Inc.
"The goal is to have the whole county looped by 2020. This is just one
more piece that we're really proud of. The overpass itself has an
artistic motif and they have done a remarkable job with plantings and
landscaping. It's a beautiful addition to
Pinellas County."
And Tampa may get a new trail that will run along the
Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.
Dubbed the Greenway, the trail will basically run along the crosstown
to Ybor Channel. According to Karen Kress, Tampa's director of
transportation and planning, studies are underway to determine which
routes will work best.
"The expressway authority is on board," she says. "And
Renaissance Planning Group is doing a study to determine how big the trail can be, where bikers will park, how the trail will connect to
Riverwalk and where it will go. Ultimately it will will be part of a regional trailway."
Writer:
Missy Kavanaugh
Sources: Karen Kress, City of Tampa; Scott Daniels, Pinellas Trails, Inc.
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