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$1-million marked for leisure corridor

The county money will get things started on the 41/2-mile Northwest Recreational Corridor.

By STEPHANIE HAYES
Published September 23, 2005

UPPER TAMPA BAY - Money, as well as plans, are on the table for miles of scenic leisure space.

Hillsborough County has forked over $1-million to get the ball rolling on the long-awaited Northwest Recreational Corridor, which stretches 41/2 miles from N Mobley Road to Westchase.

The idea, lobbied for by Commissioner Jim Norman, was approved in June, and the first $150,000 of the startup money went toward cranking out a plan. Charner Reese, the Parks, Recreation and Conservation department's principal planner, outlined the plan for members of the Upper Tampa Bay Alliance on Tuesday.

The almost 2,000-acre corridor includes Ed Radice Park, the Bakas Equestrian Center, Lake Rogers Park, and Murray Grove and Fawn Ridge parks.

Reese's plan showed a sprawling chain of horseback and hiking trails, group picnic areas, fishing docks, pavilions, restrooms and a special events area.

Reese said wetlands and natural areas will be largely left alone.

"We didn't want to see something come in here that would have to clear all that," she said.

Next, the county will lock in land on the west side of Gunn Highway at Copeland Road to provide a link to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail. The purchase is rushed so developers won't snag the private site. By 2006, the county also plans to buy 9 acres east of Ed Radice Park to renovate as sports fields.

The crowded Westchase Soccer Association may be able to use those fields exclusively, but not until 2007 at the earliest. Reese said building a maintenance facility at Murray Grove trumps the fields on the priority list.

"The maintenance building is critical," Reese said. "You've got to have a base to maintain all that property."

Once tools and equipment have a home, the plan will gobble up an alloted $1.6-million for the playing fields, new lighting at Ed Radice Park, improvements at Murray Grove and Lake Rogers Park, and habitat restoration.

The Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program plans to buy property, including Lake Rogers Park, from the city of St. Petersburg for $4.6-million in 2008 or 2009.

After that, hopes are high, but funds are not. Other potential improvements include a paved trail system with a connection to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail and a nature study center.

Reese said the county will try to sniff out state and federal money, but other unfunded county projects may step in front of the corridor in the cash line.

"This project, I can tell you, on the list, is not way at the top," she said. "It's such a good candidate for federal money, if after New Orleans, there is any left."

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at 813 269-5303 or shayes@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 09:00:09]