TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

A Path For All Walks Of Life

Tampa Tribune

Ann-Marie Bethea, from left, with her daughter Adeline, 16 months Laura McCauley, and daughter Madison, 16 months and Heather Alland and daughter Rylee, 13 months, enjoy a stroll on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail.

ADVERTISEMENT

By B.C. MANION

Published: November 19, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Ken and Faye Joyner of Fountain View Estates have a daily ritual.

They hop onto their bicycles and hit the Upper Tampa Bay Trail - logging 14 miles in their round trip.

The trail, which opened in 1997, stretches from Old Memorial Highway/Montague Street to Peterson Road Park. Eventually it will be seven miles longer and will link into the Suncoast Trail, a 41.3-mile path that goes from Lutz-Lake Fern Road in northern Hillsborough County through Pasco County to the northern edge of Hernando County.

The Joyners are huge fans of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail.

"We love it," said 68-year-old Ken Joyner. It's a lot safer than dodging traffic, he said.

It's a lot prettier, too, Faye said.

"We like the wildlife and the wildflowers," the 67-year-old woman said.

Over time, they've met lots of others on the trail - who are running, walking, jogging, in-line skating and bicycling.

"We probably know 50 people or more," Ken Joyner said.

The trail also is popular with young mothers.

Laura McCauley of Town 'N Country, Heather Alland of Odessa and Ann-Marie Bethea of St. Petersburg recently were out on the trail pushing their daughters in strollers.

There's a direct correlation between the distance of their walks and the behavior of their under-2-year-old daughters: Madison McCauley, Rylee Alland and Adeline Bethea.

Forty-seven-year-old Monica Talavera of Plantation is a regular as well.

Sometimes she hits the trail alone; other times she is with her family.

Her solitary walks offer a reprieve from the pressures of daily life, said Talavera, a medical technologist at Tampa General Hospital.

"It's a peaceful place to be and to get in touch with yourself and to put things back in perspective," she said.

One county goal has been to make it easier for people to walk to trails and parks.

Along those lines it recently installed a pedestrian-activated signal on Sheldon Road at the end of the Town 'N Country Greenway, between Norfolk and Flora streets West.

The signal allows users to make their way safely across Sheldon Road, south of Waters Avenue.

Then they can head over to another midblock crossing, on Waters Avenue next to the Northwest Hillsborough Family YMCA.

This allows them to avoid crossing at the more dangerous intersection of Waters Avenue and Sheldon Road, said Rob Gamester, a Town 'N Country activist who is thrilled with the connection.

Tina Russo, a senior parks manager for Hillsborough County's Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, oversees the county's recreational trails in Northwest Hillsborough.

She has noticed an increase in users on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail since the new stoplight was installed on Sheldon at the end of the Town 'N Country Greenway.

The crossing was designed to give people plenty of time to cross Sheldon Road, Russo said.

There's a safe haven in the median for people who can't make it all of the way across the road with one light cycle, she said.

Once they're in the middle, they can push the button again and cross the rest of the way.

Most people won't need that feature, but it comes in handy for families who are trying to corral little kids on bicycles or in-line skates, Russo said.

It also helps older people - and people recovering from surgeries - who aren't able to walk quickly, Gamester said.

Another improvement under way will create a new connection between Northdale and nearby Lake Park.

That 1.5-mile path will connect residents in Northdale with the soccer field and Lake Park, without having to get into their cars.

When the trail opens next spring, Northdale residents will be able to take advantage of Lake Park's amenities without having to drive down North Dale Mabry Highway.

Another project eventually will connect the Upper Tampa Bay Trail to the Suncoast Trail, which ends at U.S. 98 in Hernando County.

Hillsborough officials have estimated it would cost $12 million to build the final seven-mile segment of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, but the county commission rejected lobbying efforts earlier this year to earmark that money.

Commissioners decided to set aside $3 million to build a new trailhead near the Suncoast Trail, to replace a trailhead that will be displaced by a project to build an interchange to the Suncoast Parkway at Lutz-Lake Fern Road.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT