Residents and Port Richey officials say construction is shoddy, but improvements are promised.
By ALEX LEARY
Published February 7, 2004
PORT RICHEY - A bike and hike trail along Old Post Road was supposed to evoke images of contented morning walkers, inline skaters and parents pushing children in strollers.
But as the second leg of the project nears completion, a 2,000-foot extension from Bay Boulevard to the waterfront park, some are left with a vastly different impression. They say it is ugly and unsafe and they characterize the workmanship as "shoddy."
"I can't think of anything that could look worse," said City Council member Phyllis Grae, who drives Old Post Road each morning. "I hate it."
"It's dangerous," said another council member, Pat Guttman. "I see cars on it; someone might get run over. It definitely doesn't add to the neighborhood."
"This is sad. It's really sad," council member Bill Bennett added. He blamed city officials for inadequate supervision of the contractor. "Where do we watch this from?" he asked at a recent council meeting. "New Port Richey? A restaurant? A bar?"
A few residents have bemoaned the trail as well, saying it is uneven, holds water and looks out of place.
They take exception to the large yellow posts, called bollards, that dot the asphalt. Some worry that a child on a bike might not pay attention and crash into one.
Lou Clini, the city official who oversees grant projects, defended the work with equal bluntness. "Certain people," he said, "complain about everything." He disputed Bennett's contention that supervision was lax.
Still, Clini said the city, through its engineer, Tampa Bay Engineering, has called for several improvements, and the contractor will not get final payment until those are made.
The work is being done by MARS Precision Products, which has offices on Leo Kidd Avenue in Port Richey under the name Marine Products. Mike Camera's company was the low bidder at $89,614, which was about $8,700 less than the next company.
Camera's company mainly does marine construction; it won bids for repairs to the city's dock at Nicks Park and more recently installed a fishing pier and canoe launch at the waterfront park. A bike and hike trail is "not the norm" for MARS Precision Products, Camera acknowledged, "but once we're done, it will be all right."
The extension builds on a nearly half mile trail that has been in place for several years. It begins at Koons Road, which leads to Brasher Park, and goes down Old Post Road to Bay Boulevard.
The extension, including engineering, is about $216,000 and is financed by a state grant, Clini said. There have been two additions that came after bidding closed: about $51,000 to extend the trail through the waterfront park and $7,200 to improve drainage at the Miles Boulevard intersection.
Camera said criticism is premature because the job is not complete. Next week, he said, more asphalt will be laid down to even the surface and correct water problems. Swales also are being finished.
He attributed some of the problems to changes in the neighborhood. Plans for the trail were drawn more than four years ago by former city engineer firm Wade-Trim. Since then, a home has been built at Bay Boulevard and Old Post Road, raising the elevation and causing water to run on the trail, Camera said.
But Bennett, who is a licensed contractor, said the work should have been adjusted to meet the changes. And he said the puddling happens in more places than in front of the home. Bennett said a crown should have been built into the asphalt.
The engineering plans called for bollards in a straight line but in some spots there were pipes and the posts had to be shifted accordingly, Camera said. "We're not talking a big difference, maybe 6 inches," he said.
The bollards are to prevent a motorist from driving onto the trail, though some say they should have been placed at the edge of the trail, not in the middle.
This is not the first time people have derided the bike and hike trail. When the first section was put in about four years ago, people said an aluminum fence that ran along the trail was ugly.
"I guess people have to have something to talk about," Camera said of the new complaints. The trail will be completed in about two weeks, he added.
- Alex Leary covers the city of Port Richey. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is leary@sptimes.com
