Trail Project Takes Steps Forward

If all goes according to plan, a paved recreational trail will one day run east from Brooksville's Russell Park to the Withlacoochee State Trail.

But trail construction, like just about everything else, is about taking one step at a time.

After years of delays, the city and county are taking another couple of steps toward the completion of the long-envisioned Good Neighbor Trail.

The city plans to start soliciting bids next week for construction of 4,000 feet of a 12-foot-wide paved recreational trail in Russell Park, on Russell Street between Main Street and South Brooksville Avenue.

The city council will consider the request at its regular meeting Monday. Construction could start within two to three months, said Public Works Director Emory Pierce. In the coming weeks, the city will seek bids for the construction of restrooms in the park.

The county, which is working in conjunction with the city on the project, has already opened the bidding to construct about 6,000 feet of trail that will extend east from Russell Park to Jasmine Street. That segment could be completed by early next summer, said Bob Carpenter, senior project manager for the county's engineering department.

Eventually, the trail will continue eastward for another 10 miles to connect with the 46-mile Withlacoochee Trail. That extension is years - and millions of dollars - away from reality.

But the impending work on what will be known as the Good Neighbor Trailhead is exciting progress on a long-awaited project first envisioned more than a decade ago, said City Council member Lara Bradburn.

Bradburn was a newspaper reporter in the county when the idea for the project was born with a push from then-city planner Jim Malcolm, who is about step down from the school board. Bradburn's research on other recreational trails in the state showed the byways are powerful conduits for economic development.

"This trail is the catalyst to redevelopment that we've been looking for," Bradburn said. "It's a jumpstart to economic prosperity downtown."

Bradburn found that places such as Dunedin have enjoyed success by creating a master plan for the kind of development along the trail. Crime went down and tourism rates went up. In Dunedin, a commercial district suffering from a high commercial vacancy rate turned into a vibrant mix of shops, galleries, cafes and other businesses.

The Good Neighbor Trail could do the same for a portion of South Brooksville, especially once it connects with the Withlacoochee Trail, the longest paved trail in the state, Bradburn said.

The city about eight years ago used $600,000 in state grant money to buy additional parkland and right of way for the trail extension. It's been slow going since then, mainly because the project needed to wait its turn for more state funding from the Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, said Bill Geiger, Brooksville's community development director.

The city now has nearly $512,000 set aside for the trailhead project.

"You can have lots of plans but until you have money to implement, then you can't make it a reality," he said.

The developers of the Majestic Oaks residential development, which is within the city limits off Mondon Hill road, have agreed to provide right of way for about of a mile of trail.

The county will take over once the trail reaches the city limits. Most of the remaining nine mile or so of trail will be built along the former CSX rail line.

The county currently has the project divided into two phases. The estimated cost for both: $2.8 million.

Bradburn said there's a chance the trail could be completed within five years. But Steve Diez, the bicycle/pedestrian coordinator for the county, was doubtful.

The project is on the county's priority list for the MPO funds doled out each year. If the county used all the money for the Good Neighbor Trail, "maybe" it could be done in five years, Diez said.

"But we can't do that," he said.

The roughly $300,000 annual allotment also must pays for a variety of pedestrian-related improvements throughout the county, Diez said.