Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
ALEX LEARYOfficials want to improve its appearance and make it safer.
PORT RICHEY - Amid continued uproar over the new hike and bike trail along Old Post Road, city officials this week will look to improve its appearance and address safety issues posed by large posts in the center of the trail.
Critics say the bright yellow posts are unsightly and present a danger to kids or others who momentarily take their eyes off the trail.
Larry Fluty, the city's contract engineer, said the posts could be removed, with smaller ones placed off the center of the asphalt trail. Another option is flexible plastic posts, which would provide a visual barrier to cars but not injure a careless bicyclist or skater.
The trail extends from an existing leg on Old Post Road and runs about 2,000 feet from Bay Boulevard to the waterfront park. While the work was ongoing, the city spent $51,000 to extend the trail through the park. The entire job cost about $216,000 and was financed through state grants, city officials said.
It is intended to be a community asset, but much of the reaction has been negative. Some residents found fault with a narrow strip of grass between the road and the trail, saying it looks awful.
"Cars have been driving on it and tearing it up, so it hasn't had a chance to settle in," assistant to the city manager Lou Clini said Monday.
The grass was designed to prevent road runoff from reaching the trail, but it could be replaced with brick.
The brick would cost about $2,200, Fluty said.
"I think it could look much nicer," said Sandra Spaldi, who lives on Old Post Road and has been critical of the trail. "But why does everything have to be done twice?"
Complaints about the trail surfaced at last week's City Council meeting. "I deplore this. I hate it with a passion," council member Phyllis Grae said.
Raised asphalt around a drain might twist a runner's ankle, council member Bill Bennett said, and the city could be liable.
Fluty said he will evaluate the area this week. The city will determine whether drains were properly installed.
Contractor Mike Camera of MARS Precision Products, which did the work, said complaints about the trail should not be pointed his way. The yellow posts and grass strip were part of the design created by former city engineering firm Wade-Trim.
"It has zero to do with me. Everything was done to the blueprint," said Camera, who bid just less than $90,000 for the job. "I guess they need something to complain about."
Camera's company had to lay additional asphalt after residents said the trail was uneven and held water. Clini said he is satisfied with the job, but others say it is less than perfect.
The council is expected to discuss the project at its March 23 meeting.