Bike Trail to Connect Downtown to the Beach

In an effort to connect downtown St. Petersburg to the Gulf of Mexico and the beaches, the city of St. Pete is planning to create a bike trail connecting the Pinellas Trail to the beach trail on Treasure Island. 

The plans are still in the development phases but the city has posted alternative paths, along 1st Avenue South, Central Avenue, South Pasadena and the Davista Neighborhood. (See maps above)

Those alternatives lead to a bike connection through Causeway Isles. There, the city has proposed two options. (Also posted above). 

According to Joe Kubicki, with the city's transportation and parking management, construction and design costs associated with the trail will be funded with a federal grant. 

"We are in the early planning stages and are looking at different alternatives how that connection (to the beaches) can be made," Kubicki said. 

Since the bike paths are still in the design selection phase there are no real hard cost projections yet, Kubicki said. 

Bike paths, some more than others, would force some tree/landscaping removal along. Trees, he said, would be replaced along with landscaping. 

On June 18 the city held a public forum for residents to speak out about the design alternatives and offer up suggestions. 

If you'd like to provide a comment on the project and/or any of the options shown, you can download a form from the city's website (click here) and submit your response to Cheryl Stacks, Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator, at Cheryl.Stacks@stpete.org. Public comments are due by Friday, June 28.

After public comments are collected, staff will select a design and make a recommendation to city council. Kubicki said it would be a few months before council votes on the proposed bike path.