Where will the Pinellas Trail go in Clearwater?

One reader was curious about the future of the Pinellas Trail through downtown Clearwater and what could be done to ease the often confusing and award route. I posed the question to Susan J. Miller, the Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner from the Pinellas County Planning Department. Below is the reader's question and her response.

Hi,

The recent good news about the future of the Pinellas Trail extensions and possible Upper Tampa Trail work has got me wondering, has there been any discussion about the trail through Clearwater? I use all the area trails often and am generally impressed with the condition and convenience of them, but to follow the trail through downtown Clearwater is a joke.

It crosses 8 or 10 four-way stop intersections, crosses Ft. Harrison at a light near Bellevue, turns and crosses Drew Sts if you can follow the signs. AND it is downright dangerous at the crossing of Chestnut, a one way street from the beach, with very limited visibility and fast moving traffic.

It is a shame to have these liabilities right in the middle of a world class trail to the north and south. Has this issue been around? Who can improve it? How do we get it started? Any ideas?

James, Largo

Miller's response:

Thank you for your interest in the Pinellas Trail. You are correct that there are many street crossings on the Pinellas Trail – nearly 90 of them actually! Since we live in a densely-populated county, we are very fortunate to have such a developed multi-use trail system within our urbanized metropolitan area.

The Pinellas Trail travels through the central business district of downtown Clearwater. Originally, there was a gap in the downtown section when construction for the Trail first began in 1990. That short 3/4-mile proved to be very challenging. As you said, there are numerous intersections the Trail has to traverse in that particularly congested area with high motorized traffic volumes.

The City of Clearwater is currently working with Pinellas County and FDOT to redesign the section of the Trail through their downtown. The project includes added safety features at the street crossings, plus a connection to the Memorial Causeway and Clearwater Beach.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for supporting bicycling in Pinellas County.

Sincerely,

Susan J. Miller
Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner
Pinellas County Planning Department
600 Cleveland Street, Suite 750
Clearwater, FL 33755
727-464-8200
FAX: 727-464-8201
smiller@pinellascounty.org
www.pinellascounty.org/mpo