Where will the Pinellas Trail go in Clearwater?

One reader was curious about the future of the Pinellas Trail through downtown Clearwater and what could be done to ease the often confusing and award route. I posed the question to Susan J. Miller, the Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner from the Pinellas County Planning Department. Below is the reader's question and her response.

Hi,

The recent good news about the future of the Pinellas Trail extensions and possible Upper Tampa Trail work has got me wondering, has there been any discussion about the trail through Clearwater? I use all the area trails often and am generally impressed with the condition and convenience of them, but to follow the trail through downtown Clearwater is a joke. 

It crosses 8 or 10  four-way stop intersections, crosses Ft. Harrison at a light near Bellevue, turns and crosses Drew Sts if you can follow the signs. AND it is downright dangerous at the crossing of Chestnut, a one way street from the beach, with very limited visibility and fast moving traffic. 

It is a shame to have these liabilities right in the middle of a world class trail to the north and south. Has this issue been around? Who can improve it? How do we get it started? Any ideas?

James, Largo

Miller's response:

Thank you for your interest in the Pinellas Trail. You are correct that there are many street crossings on the Pinellas Trail – nearly 90 of them actually!  Since we live in a densely-populated county, we are very fortunate to have such a developed multi-use trail system within our urbanized metropolitan area.

The Pinellas Trail travels through the central business district of downtown Clearwater. Originally, there was a gap in the downtown section when construction for the Trail first began in 1990.  That short 3/4-mile proved to be very challenging. As you said, there are numerous intersections the Trail has to traverse in that particularly congested area with high motorized traffic volumes.

The City of Clearwater is currently working with Pinellas County and FDOT to redesign the section of the Trail through their downtown.  The project includes added safety features at the street crossings, plus a connection to the Memorial Causeway and Clearwater Beach.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me.  Thank you for supporting bicycling in Pinellas County.

Sincerely,

Susan J. Miller
Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner
Pinellas County Planning Department
600 Cleveland Street, Suite 750
Clearwater, FL  33755
727-464-8200
FAX: 727-464-8201
smiller@pinellascounty.org
www.pinellascounty.org/mpo

Comments

[Chip Haynes]

For those of you that maybe haven't seen where the Pinellas Trail runs alongside East Avenue through downtown Clearwater, let me spell it out for you. Just to get through that 4,000 FEET of city, the trail has to cross these streets: Drew, Hendricks, Laura, Cleveland, Park, Pierce, Franklin, Court, Chestnut and Turner. Of those, trail travelers don't have to stop at only two: Hendricks and Laura. Go team.
Even then, a bit further south of Lakeview, the trail goes back out to a sidewalk alongside Fort Harrison Avenue until it can once again become the trail we all know and love south of Bellevue. T'ain't easy being a trail in Pinellas County.

But then again, it ain't so bad, either.

[cj]

Simple solution: when heading north on the Trail, after you cross over S. Ft. Harrison near the Belleview Biltmore sign, stay on Ft. Harrison in the marked bike lane, single file, all the way through downtown Clearwater. If you want to get back on the Trail, you can do so by heading east on Drew Street and turning north onto the Trail, but eventually you'll be dealing with numerous cross streets in the downtown Dunedin area.

Or instead, you might consider staying on Ft. Harrison, which forks onto Edgewater Drive, and then north on Alt 19, up to and through Dunedin. About a mile or so north of downtown Dunedin, the Trail is right next to Alt. 19, which you can then ride all the way to Tarpon.

I do this regularly, and it is a much better journey, though you are next to vehicular traffic for about 6-7 miles.

[Chip Haynes]

Yeah, there's only about three or four dozen different ways through (or around) downtown Clearwater, but the bottom line is the bottom line: There's a lot of traffic here. No matter which way you go, no matter how you get through, be careful and choose wisely.

[Kerstin Upmeyer]

I NEVER ride the trail through DT Clearwater. I either put out on Main St. and head North, or I go to my folk's house in Belleair, get on the trail there, and head South. I avoid that stretch of Clearwater like the plague!

As someone who is usually riding for fitness, I am usually going "out and back", so the problem with using Ft. Harrison is there's a bike lane only on ONE SIDE of the street. :-P So that gets me one way, but not the other. And I really don't like riding in traffic without at least a bike lane. So this part of the trail is pretty frustrating to me.

The letter from Susan Miller sounds like they're going to slap up some more signage and that's about it , or am I wrong here? I'd even accept a part of it being in traffic if there were CLEARLY marked bike lanes going in both directions.

[Chip Haynes]

Since I work right downtown, I do, from time to time, take the trail to get in or out of downtown- but not often. (A telling tale there, all things considered.) In the mornings, I come in on Prospect to Park to Garden. In the afternoons, I leave right down Cleveland Street (crazy mad road warrior that I am).
As I understand it, the Pinellas Trail as it goes down East Avenue through downtown Clearwater is to be totally rebuilt to look much more like the regular parts of the trail (and less like a sidewalk). East Avenue will lose its southbound traffic lane to the rebuilt trail, but, obviously, the live rail line will remain in place.
No idea when.

[Kimberly]

When I go to downtown Clearwater, I head north on the Pinellas Trail and get off about a block south of where the north-bound bike lane starts on Ft. Harrison. Then, I ride north on Ft. Harrison to make a right turn on Cleveland to get to my destination.

Leaving Clearwater, I head south on S Garden Ave, turn right on Court St, left on Ft Harrison, and get back on the Pinellas Trail where it meets Ft Harrison.

When there's a bike lane, I ride the bike lane. When there's no bike lane, I ride in the same lane as cars, but don't ride right next to the curb.

If you ride right next to the curb in a lane that is too narrow to safely share, you'll have uneducated motorists trying to share the lane with you. Yipes! You won't need to shave for a week!

When you ride so that uneducated motorists know there's no possible way to share the lane, they will wait and move their car out of the lane and far enough away from you. Rule: if motorists are passing too close on the left, move left until they start passing safely.

[Euell]

Absolute rubbish and political drool! The trail is a mess in downtown Clearwater because the city allowed the adjacent landowners to encroach and construct on the vacated corridor. It will remain a wilderness of make-do until the city AND those swatters are enjoined from their 'taking' of property and required to restore the corridor to its original condition. Just because you build a hospital in the middle of someone else's driveway, doesn't make it right, or a community improvement.

[Kimberly]

There are a lot of good videos to help people understand each other and understand more about bicycling.

Introducation to Inclusive Planning and DesignIntroducation to Inclusive Planning and Design
To watch watch the video, click on the "Press Play > for Video" box.
http://www.cyclistview.com/inclusivepdintro/index.htm

[Chip Haynes]

Actually, it's an office building, Euell. (The SunTrust building.) If only they had installed automatic doors, we could have ridden right through, non-stop!

Yes, encroachment took the original railroad right of way through downtown Clearwater after it was abandoned by the railroad, so it hasn't been easy through there.

C'est la vie.

[Euell]

Chris, if I build on a public access, the city will give me three days to tear down the structure and fine me. If I steal from a bank, I go to prison, pay a fine, and give back the money. If a bank steals from the community by building on a public access ...?

Well, we already have that answer.

If SunTrust was a community leader rather than poseur, they would be spearheading the trail corridor. Instead, we have another county sponsored hand wringing and hankie chewing contest.

Next, a rerun of the St.Pete public hearings, 'OMG, they're going reserve a street lane for bicycles.'

[Chip Haynes]

Ah, but it wasn't public access, was it? It was a 60 foot wide strip of land abandoned by the owner. It was still private land. In many cases, the encroachment was perfectly legal, with agreements drawn up between the railroad and the adjoining land owners. One of the long-standing problems with government is that it's almost impossible for government (any government) to move as fast as private business. This becomes an obvious handicap when it comes to securing desirable land that might come available on little notice. The SunTrust Building was just one of many businesses/land owners that began to utilize that former rail line right of way before any government could step in and buy it. There was a bit of a lag time between the railroad abandoning the right of way and someone saying, "Hey, you know, that would sure make a spiffy bike trail!"

[Euell]

Perfectly understandable that the City of Clearwater and SunTrust would ignore federal law (Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, and The National Trails System Act, P.L. 90-543 of 1983) to create such a lovely parking lot. Also, I'm sure the legislature vacated the state's ownership to the railroad land grant corridor to allow for other uses.

[Chip Haynes]

Actually, it was the State that bought up all of the available right of way and then sold it to Pinellas County for the trail. Considering the population density of this county, I'm amazed that we have any trail at all. To have one of the most sucessful urban trails in America (as we most certainly do), is really something to be proud of.

Considering our county commission and staff, it is amazing the trail happened. Even more amazing, considering the commission's first proposal about a year after the Seaboard abandoned the grade, was to build a Disney style monorail on the corridor, a circus that went on for about five years.

[Chip Haynes]

Absolutely true.

[Kerstin Upmeyer]

Sorry I got busy and did not come back to the blog for a bit. Kimberly, I just wanted to thank you for your comments on ways/places to ride. Although I have not yet become very comfortable with road riding, and I don't know if I ever will. If there is not a bike lane, I wont ride in the road. I know I have the right, but I honestly fear for my safety and ugliness from drivers who don't know/care that I have that right. Still, I like learning more about it and hope to be brave enough one day!

I wanted to mention that I got an email after my first post here from Susan Miller. She had read my post and assured me there was more than signage that would be changing. She told me to call her anytime and she'd be happy to explain in more detail. Anyway, I just thought that was very nice of her, and wanted to let the folks here know. I'm not sayin' the changes will make me totally comfortable riding through DT, but I appreciate her willingness to reach out and communicate.

Anyway, I'm off for a ride on the trail now, I will be, as usual, parking off main St. and heading to Tarpon. :-) For now at least. We'll see what the future holds.

[Kimberly]

To help drivers operate safely, check out
http://www.stpetecycling.com/safety.html
It includes a link to a form to report dangerous drivers. One form option is "psychiatric disturbance". Think road rage.

Another thing to do is always carry bicycle education fliers. You can call Susan Miller to find out how to get the green "Bicycles are Vehicles" fliers.

Also, you can get "Share the Road" fliers by going to:
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/html/BST.htm
.....Copy, print, reduce the font, print them on orange paper like the rest of us do, and you can get three fliers per 8 1/2" x 11" sheet.

Start educating by making sure all houses in your neighborhood have the fliers put on the doors. When people have the instructions for operating something, they go out and use the item. That's one of the ways we increased the number of bicyclists in St. Petersburg.

I've talked with motorists who tried out bicycling, became more aware of how motorists' actions affect bicyclists, and improved their car driving because of it.

This isn't just about your safety. Public schools in our area are forced to deal with diesel prices by making all students, who live within 2 miles of their school, find their own transportation. There's an article about it in today's Neighborhood Times. If parents can't drive their kids to school, that means kids will be walking, skateboarding, and bicycling to school.

Every year we have one or more students killed or severely and permanently injured while they go to or from school. So much of that misery could be stopped if parents and students could be given practical advice unfettered by the politicians and people who are too scared to actually go out there and walk/bicycle.

If you bicycle or walk sufficiently in our area, you'll know how to do it without getting killed. People staying in their offices and cars won't learn how to do it and their advice won't be very useful.

[Kerstin Upmeyer]

Great info Kimberly, thanks. I especially like the site to let you report dangerous drivers, I'll be sure to book mark it.

I do bike a lot in my area, I just stick to bike lanes, the trails and occasionally neighborhood back roads. I appreciate your point in your last paragraph but would not qualify myself as someone who stays in her office or car. I finished my first Century ride this past March.

However, everyone as to find their own comfort level. I have been yelled (to scare me) at and have had things like water thrown at me by motorists who watch to many Jackass episodes and that's while in the bike lane. I ride for exercise and for pleasure. Riding on main roads is not pleasurable for me.

I agree we need to push advocacy. And I appreciate it is not just my safety that better advocacy helps, but also it IS MY safety, so I can only choose what's right for me in terms of my own life. I can help promote advocacy in other ways than riding on major roads. And I thank you for some of the good suggestions you've given in your last post. I appreciate you feel strongly about this, but please understand not all cyclists are comfortable cycling on main roads, this does not make me any less interested in in advocacy nor less of a cyclist.

[T.K Schiezehund]

The roads in St. Pete are in TERRIBLE shape and all that you people have to talk about are the trail and it's little idiosyncrasies!!

You're all a bunch of spoiled, whining cry babies!!! I hope hurriance Fay sweeps all you whiners out to sea!!! Then I won't have to pay your taxes to ride your bikes on MY roads!!

[Kimberly]

The title of this section is "Where will the Pinellas Trail go in Clearwater?" Therefore, we are discussing the Trail. There are plenty of other sections where we talk about the roads.

Actually, we all pay taxes on the roads. Chip is really good about explaining this.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/70992441.html?dids=70992441:70992441&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+1%2C+2001&author=&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=2&desc=More+bike+lanes+signal+a+progressive+county+Series%3A+LETTERS

"More bike lanes signal a progressive county Series: LETTERS
Apr 1, 2001

Roads are for cars, bicycles alike

Re: She can't take up the whole lane, letter, March 25.

I was saddened to read the letter regarding bicycle advocate Kimberly Cooper. The letter writer's stand against bicycles on roads is fundamentally wrong on two counts.

First and foremost, the roads are public. That means you can use them even if you didn't pay for them. This makes it very convenient for our out-of-town guests, to say the least.

As for the writer's point about a bicyclist's not paying taxes, I beg to differ: For what the letter writer pays in driver's license fees, auto tag fees and gasoline taxes, we couldn't begin to patch the first pothole. Roads are built with property taxes, sales taxes and federal funding. (That would be personal income taxes and corporate taxes.) We all pay for the roads, no matter how we use them.

If motor vehicle owners paid a user tax commensurate with the cost of maintaining the roads on their behalf, gasoline would be about $15 a gallon, and my property taxes could be cut sharply.

I own and operate four licensed motor vehicles, but choose to ride a bicycle to work. Like Kimberly Cooper, I know I have an equal right to the road under Florida law. But, again like Kimberly Cooper, I know I have to share the road with drivers like the letter writer. At least, until the oil runs out.

Treat the cyclists nice. We are your future.

Chip Haynes"

Since oil has doubled since 2001, the price of asphalt and other things made with oil has greatly increased. So, gasoline would probably need to cost a lot more than $15 per gallon now to pay for the roads.

[Kimberly]

People who own cars and houses overtly pay sales, property, and income taxes.

People who don't own cars and houses overtly pay sales and income taxes and covertly pay gas taxes and property taxes.

Store owners pay to have things shipped to the stores. The shipping includes diesel and its taxes. Store owners pass those shipping costs on to consumers. Owners don't just say, "Oh well. I'll pay the shipping out of my own packet." That's covert.

The rental property owners pay property taxes. The taxes are tacked on to the rent so the renters pay the property taxes that way. Again, it's covert.

[Kimberly]

The heavier the vehicle, the more it wears out the roads.

Bicyclists at the most weigh about the same as pedestrians. Get 2,000 bicyclists out on the roads and check out how much they wear out the roads.

A few years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. Street N, between about 9th Ave N & 24th Ave N in St Pete, was all torn up. Big motor vehicles ahd caused so much shaking of the road and everything under the road that the shaking had damaged the pipes under the road. I don't know if it was sewer pipes or a pipe for something else. The seams had been damaged.

So, workers had to dig down through the road at every seam and fix the pipes.

Just think how much tax money was spent because those motor vehicles were allowed on the road. Would you like us to outlaw those vehicles so you don't have to pay taxes to fix the roads? After all, they caused the damage, you didn't.

[Kimberly]

Kerstin Upmeyer:

Not to worry about me looking down on you for the way you bicycle. That comment was more for some of these people who think they know everything just because they bicycled as children.

Also, you might not have had as many experiences with bullies as I've had. I've been dealing with them since 2nd or 3rd grade. That's over 40 years of bullies by now.

If people don't like me because I'm an assertive bicyclist, remember that the bullies have made me what I am.

Also, you might not have the same perspective on various life issues as I have.

As for things you can do to improve road safety... Take action. Report them.

One time, someone in a car deliberately threw a bottle and hit me. I quickly saw that I could go back safely for the bottle. So, I picked it up without leaving prints and bicycled it to the police dept. An officer took the report and a technician took the bottle back for finger printing.

When I said that I knew it was a little thing, the officer said that no, it was a big issue. A car occupant is throwing a dangerous missile when the occupant throws something at a motorcyclist, bicyclist, pedestrian, rollerblader, skateboarder, etc. A biker, cyclist, or other person could go down and be injured because of it.

I think the officer said it was a felony. But, you'd need to call your local police department to confirm that and whether it was 3rd degree or another degree.

I use the event. When I hear young people joke about tormenting bicyclists and other road users, I tell them about the bottle incident. It helps them realize the serousness of the issue.

I'm glad you know advocacy is important and are willing to put some footwork into it. Every little bit helps. We need all of us working together.

[Chip Haynes]

Wow- it's weird to see stuff I wrote so long ago back at the forefront, but I'm glad it still makes sense. (And it does.) Thnak you, Kimberly! As for the wear-and-tear issue of heavy vehicles on public roads, we're seeing the opposite on bike trails: With no heavy traffic on that trail pavement, the tree roots tend to push the surface up much quicker.

C'est la vie.

[Kerstin Upmeyer]

Ah gotcha Kimberly, sure sometimes it's hard to parse folks meaning in the written word. I apologize, I see what you were saying was not just to me. :-) (Gee and I thought everything was about me! LOL!) You are right, even though I limit my road riding due to personal discomfort, I DO believe strongly in advocacy. I have been contacting local govt. regarding the trail, and I had a Share the Road Tag on my Honda Fit, but I would like to do more. You have given me some great info on how to do that, thanks!

Wow, your stories are hair raising. I admire your standing up against the bullies. (Although it doesn't make riding on the roads sound better to me, I must admit.) I am not terribly thick-skinned, it just is what it is. But I am so impressed that you took the bottle to police. That's the kind of follow through that really can make a difference! I may not feel up to doing everything you do, but I admire the heck out of you for being willing to take on the cagers. Ultimately I want to bike, though, not battle (at least not on the road) I'll fight in other ways though, I promise! :-)

Chip, you are so right about the tree roots! It's AMAZING how fast they break through and bump up the trail. Suncoast Parkway Trail doesn't have that problem so much, of course, what makes Pinellas Trail so nice is all the lovely trees and foliage. Trade offs I guess! :-)