Working Together: Coordinated Trails Planning in the Tampa Bay Area
1995-2023
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Statewide Initiatives
Florida Greenways and Trails Council
Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation
FDOT SUNTrail Projects (2017)
• C2C Trail coast to coast – Titusville to St Pete
• Regional coordination and funding request
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Regional Trails Planning (History)
• West Central Florida Chairs Coordinating Committee (1993)
• 1995: WCF CCC Multi-Use Trail Committee created
• Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (2007)
• 2016: WCF CCC contracted with TBARTA
• Sun Coast Transportation Planning Alliance (SCTPA), (2021)
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Regional Trail Projects
• Friendship Trail Bridge (1999-2008)
• Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail (2007)
• Gulf Coast Trail (2016)*
• In Hillsborough County, includes:
1. Courtney Campbell
2. I-275 Greenway
3. Tampa Riverwalk
4. Selmon Greenway
5. South Coast Greenway
• Continues to Collier/Lee
• Trust for Public Land Involvement
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Programed Pasco Projects
Withlacoochee Trail Connector North
• In 60% Plan Design
• Right of way acquisition required
Project Description: Construction of an 8-12 ft wide trail on approximately 6.1 miles long
• Powerline Road drainage modifications
• Old Trilby Road –paved trail along unpaved roadway
Withlacoochee
Trail Connector South
• Will be constructed with Morningside Drive Extension, a Dade City project.
• Morningside Drive is expecting 60% Plan submittal to FDOT end of July
• Right of way acquisition required
Project Description: Construction of an 8-12 ft wide trail approximately 1.1 miles long following the future Morningside Drive roadway extension
https://orangebelttrail.com/
Orange Belt Trail
PD&E Study
Project Description
• A study to build a 37-mile multi-use trail from Trinity to Trilby
Timeline of Events
•Kickoff Meeting: December 2022
•Alignment Workshops: April 2023
•Alternatives Meetings: August 2023
Orange Belt Trail
Little Road to Gunn Highway
Project Description: Design for a segment of trail from Little Road to Gunn Highway along Trinity Boulevard, Cool Springs Parkway, Community Drive, and State Road 54. Design includes a trailhead on the southside of Trinity Boulevard intersecting the Starkey Gap Trail.
Suntrail Funding for Construction: $3.9 million
• RSQ in final development and solicitation expected to go on the street within the next two months
• Trailhead amenities will be assessed (bottle fill station, restrooms, etc)
Suncoast Trail Overpass at SR
52
• Letting date scheduled for 12/2024
Project Description
New Ped / bike bridge over SR 52 and connection under Suncoast Parkway on north side of SR52
• Phase 1 (30%) Plans submitted for review on 6/23/23
• Held SWFWMD pre-application meeting on 7/13/23
• Utility coordination and relocation will be necessary
• Developing the Bridge Development Report
FORWARD PINELLAS UPDATES
Florida APA Conference September 7, 2023 1
The Pinellas Trail
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Building the Pinellas Trail – 1983 - 1985
▪ FDOT purchases abandoned rail corridor
▪ State Bicycle Coordinator suggests using the rail corridor for a trail
▪ MPO Advisory Committees pass motions of support for a trail within the rail corridor
▪ Pinellas County Planning Department encourages the MPO and FDOT to cooperatively develop the project
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Building the Pinellas Trail – 1985 - 1988
▪ The MPO Board does not support a trail on the rail corridor based on roadway crossing concerns
▪ The MPO Board works with FDOT to conduct a feasibility study for trails in Pinellas County
▪ MPO Advisory Committees recommend that a 14-mile “linear park” system be constructed along the rail corridor from Dunedin to Seminole
▪ The MPO Board supports the “linear park” concept
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Building the Pinellas Trail – 1989 - 1990
▪ Pinellas County leases 35-miles of the rail corridor from FDOT
▪ Pinellas County approves $1.5 million for construction of the first five-mile trail segment
▪ The “Penny for Pinellas” sales tax referendum passes, with $5.27 million earmarked for Pinellas Trail construction
▪ The first segment of the Pinellas Trail opens to the public
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Rail with Trail
The
City of Clearwater
converted East Avenue from two-way to one-way motor vehicle access to fill a trail gap through Downtown Clearwater in 1997.
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Trail Crossing Rail
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Pinellas Trail ROW and Construction Costs (through 2005)
▪ ROW Purchased by FDOT for $19 million ($54 million in 2023 dollars)
▪ Trail segments - $14.4 million ($28.4 million in 2023 dollars)
▪ Overpasses - $14.5 million ($26.1 million in 2023)
▪ Total ROW and Construction through 2005 - $48 million ($108.5 million in 2023)
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Pinellas Trail Construction Funding Sources 1990 – 2005
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Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail Overpasses
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Trail Counters
▪ Purchased through Partnership in Community Health (PICH) funds received from the Florida Department of Health
▪ Installed in late 2016, data collection began in January 2017
▪ Six locations along the Pinellas Trail system
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Pinellas Trail Count Data Summary
Automated Trail Counter Data Collection Period: March 1st-31st (31 days)
March 2023
31-Day Count Total: 246,838
Daily Average Counts: 7,963
March Totals by Counter Location
Highest Daily Totals:
#1 – Saturday, March 11th (Dunedin – 3,127)
#2 – Saturday, March 11th (Palm Harbor – 2,184)
#3 – Saturday, March 4th (Bay Pines – 1,504)
Counter Locations
Source: Forward Pinellas March 2023
Weekday & Weekend Profile Trail User Mode Split Palm Harbor: Dunedin: Clearwater: Walsingham: Seminole: Bay Pines: St. Petersburg:
Clearwater Walsingham Seminole Bay Pines St. Petersburg Palm Harbor 18% 82% Dunedin 13% 87% Clearwater 38% 62% Walsingham 18% 82% Seminole 28% 72% Bay Pines 21% 79% St. Petersburg 33% 67% East Lake/Tarpon 11% 89%
Palm Harbor Dunedin
826 1,178 998 803 461 1,675 1,352 1,053 1,355 1,187 963 571 2,279 1,667
East Lake/Tarpon
Weekday Average Weekend Average 27,422 37,941 32,444 26,172 15,176 56,748 44,442 6,493
St. PetersburgBay Pines Seminole WalsinghamClearwater Dunedin Palm Harbor
March 2023 Average Hourly Counter Report
0 50 100 150 200 250 12:00 AM 1:00 AM 2:00 AM 3:00 AM 4:00 AM 5:00 AM 6:00 AM 7:00 AM 8:00 AM 9:00 AM 10:00 AM 11:00 AM 12:00 PM 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 9:00 PM 10:00 PM 11:00 PM
Bay Pines Clearwater Dunedin East Lake Tarpon Palm Harbor Seminole St. Petersburg Walsingham TOTAL AVERAGE
Pinellas Trail Count Data Summary
Automated Trail Counter Data Collection
Period: March 2017 - March 2023 Data
2023 Total Count: 634,509
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Trail Counts 2017 - 2023 1,545,015 1,525,184 1,431,272 2,162,090 2,073,790 2,050,896500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Pinellas Trail Use 2017 2022 Annual Users50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 2023 Monthly Trail Count 2022 Monthly Trail Count 2021 Monthly Trail Count 2020 Monthly Trail Count 2019 Monthly Trail Count 2018 Monthly Trail Count 2017 Monthly Trail Count
Monthly
Pinellas Trail Surveys
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How far did you travel to access the trail?
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What is your primary reason for using the trail?
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Active Transportation Plan
In Summary
▪ The Pinellas Trail took decades to build, and is still under construction
▪ There were many “no's” before we got to “yes”
▪ Citizen advocacy and support is key
▪ Local funding was critical to accelerate construction and show “proof of concept”
▪ Regional collaboration benefits Pinellas County residents
▪ What gets counted counts
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Courtney Campbell Trail
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Countywide Trail Planning
• Bypass Canal Trail Feasibility Study (MPO 2015)
• 2016: Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails
Master Plan Update (MPO)
• Combining into a single plan
• Looking at connections to neighboring counties
• Bypass Canal Trail Feasibility Study (MPO 2015)
• 2016: Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails
Master Plan Update (MPO)
• Combining into a single plan
• Looking at connections to neighboring counties
• 2022-2023 – Greenways Master Plan Update –Hillsborough County
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City-Level Trail Planning
• Tampa Greenways Master Plan (2000)
• Tampa Walk Bike Plans
• Green ARTery (2012)
• West Tampa Multimodal Plan (2018)
• Plant City Walk Bike Plan (2017)
• USF to Green Artery (2021)
• Plant City Canal Trail (2023)
• Dale Mabry Overpass Study
• I-275 Greenway
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Tampa Riverwalk
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Upper Tampa Bay Trail
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South Coast Greenway (GCT)
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Selmon Greenway Green Spine
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Tampa Bypass Canal Trail
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Green ARTery
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Green Spine
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Future Opportunities
Gaps in network
TECO challenges
Tampa Bay Water
• South Hillsborough Pipeline trail?
Approved South Hillsborough Pipeline Route
2019 Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails Plan Update
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Thank You!
Questions?
Wade Reynolds, AICP
Kyle Simpson, AICP
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