A "side trail" on the avenue's north side or wider sidewalks are options from First Street N to Bayou Grande.
By JON WILSON
Published February 25, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - A bike and pedestrian path will come to 62nd Avenue NE - but not at the expense of traffic lanes, city officials say.
"Dieting" the avenue - or taking lanes away from motorists - was among options considered to turn 62nd Avenue NE into a segment of the CityTrails network of bike and foot routes.
Residents of several neighborhoods who daily use the avenue as a commuter artery fussed, saying that fewer lanes for cars and trucks would consistently tie up traffic.
"We had quite a few people screaming and hollering. We were not happy about it," said John Bosquette, a Tanglewood resident.
City transportation planners, who are implementing the CityTrails bike/pedestrian plan the City Council approved last year, have backed off the dieting option.
Instead, a 12- to 15-foot "side trail" on 62nd Avenue NE's north side or wider sidewalks on both sides will be built from First Street N to Bayou Grande Boulevard, planners said Tuesday.
Residents tended to view the demise of the narrowing option as good news.
"People are thrilled about it," said council member Bill Foster, whose district includes 62nd Avenue NE and nearby neighborhoods.
But Foster fears residents' wishes may not be so readily granted when other CityTrails elements begin going into place.
"The methodology from here on presents us with an occasional quandary. We've dodged the 62nd Avenue element because we have options" other than reducing traffic lanes, Foster said.
First Street N, Foster said, is a case in point.
"(Mayor Rick Baker's) administration is talking that we're going to diet First all the way from 30th to 62nd (avenues N,)" Foster said.
"On that one, we don't have options. That being said, this is just the first element to an entire city plan that the administration doesn't want any input from the residents," he said.
Michael Frederick, the city's neighborhood transportation manager, disagreed that residents' views will be, or have been, ignored.
He cited numerous public workshops that were held to gather public opinion before the CityTrails plan won council approval, and noted that neighborhood informational meetings are coming up.
He also said nothing is certain regarding First Street N's role in the plan north of 30th Avenue. A number of options remain, he said.
"We want to fine-tune that. We don't want to misdirect people by saying something that's not going to happen," Frederick said.
Below 30th Avenue, planners are downplaying First Street's identification as a trail link. Their preferred term is the "North Bay Trail alignment through historic Old Northeast."
What that means, Frederick said, is that there is a route planned from downtown St. Petersburg to the Friendship Trail along Gandy Boulevard.
"That line is the North Bay Trail. It would connect downtown and the end of the Pinellas Trail to make a loop around the county. The Progress Energy trail kicks in around Gandy," Frederick said.
Undecided, according to Frederick, is whether the line through the Old Northeast is First Street or another street or a combination of streets.
"Examples are going to be presented," Frederick said.
They will be presented Tuesday at a 7 p.m. neighborhood meeting at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 126 11th Ave. NE.
Also on the agenda is Dan Burden, a nationally recognized leader in the movement to create pedestrian-friendly communities.
