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Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
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Starkey Boulevard

Starkey Gap project poses safety issues

February 5, 2020 By Brian Fernandes

The ‘soft opening’ of the Starkey Gap Trail has generated some concerns about safety.

The new segment of trail creates a connection between Pasco and Pinellas counties, and is an important link in the Coast to Coast Connector Trail, running from Saint Petersburg to Titusville.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey has been instrumental in pushing the Starkey Gap Trail forward. The pathway would be a part of the Coast to Coast Connector Trail, running from Saint Petersburg to Titusville. (File)

The estimated $2.6 million Starkey Gap Trail project starts south of Trinity Boulevard, in Pinellas County, heads north connecting to State Road 54 and goes west on the corridor to intersect with Starkey Boulevard.

The Starkey Gap Trail isn’t officially open yet, but that hasn’t stopped people from using it, said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey.

Starkey has noticed a safety concern involving those walking the north end to the south end of State Road 54, to get to the trail.

As she put it: “They have been left in the little strip of concrete in the middle of State Road 54, absolutely terrified.”

She’s been vocal about getting an overpass over State Road 54, to solve that problem.

The overpass could would connect the north end and south end of the corridor, while avoiding motorists.

Starkey said she’s been discussing short-term solutions with David Gwynn, secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) district seven.

The state is looking into potential funding sources, she said.

Starkey said a proper trailhead is needed too, to discourage those who use the trail from parking on the grass along Trinity Boulevard. A trailhead typically is located where the trail begins, and includes parking, so people can unload their bicycles.

It would be a means of offsetting parking buildup for establishments, and their patrons, off of Trinity Boulevard – such as Fox Hollow Golf Club and Restaurant.

Starkey noted: “If you’ve ever tried to park there for a lunch meeting or anything, [there] is very small parking. They’ve even had to pull off to the grass under the trees on the right.

“They’re not going to be happy if people are parking in their parking lot, for the trail, which goes right by there.”

Pasco County did not include the installation of a trailhead in its original plans for the project, but Starkey said she and Sam Beneck, a county project manager, have “identified a couple places that could be a temporary trailhead,” including Duke Energy property.

Advocating for trails and trail safety is nothing new for Starkey.

She frequently asks questions about potential trail connections during Pasco County Commission public hearings, to make sure potential linkages are protected.

She also is known for her work in the arena of bicycle safety, receiving the 2018 Elected Official Champion of the Year from the Florida Bicycle Association.

In bestowing the honor last year, Becky Alfonso, executive director of the association, praised Starkey’s work.

“Her experience, tenacity and public service record are admirable and inspirational,” Alfonso said, at the time.

Published February 05, 2020

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: Becky Alfonso, Coast-to-Coast Connector Trail, David Gwynn, Duke Energy, Florida Bicycle Association, Florida Department of Transportation, Fox Hollow Golf Club and Restaurant, Kathryn Starkey, Pasco County Commission, Sam Beneck, Starkey Boulevard, Starkey Gap Trail, State Road 54, Trinity Boulevard

Central Pasco changes being considered

April 17, 2019 By B.C. Manion

A number of land-use and zoning changes are being considered on properties within Central Pasco County.

The proposals were considered by the Pasco County Commission and its advisory body, the Pasco County Planning Commission last week.

The County Commission:

  • Transmitted to the state Department of Economic Opportunity and reviewing agencies a request to amend the county’s land-use plan from a designation allowing one dwelling per acre to one that allows six dwelling units per acre on 39.93 acres at the southwest corner of Ehren Cutoff at Caliente Boulevard. The site is about one-quarter mile to the northwest of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard. The applicant is proposing 120 single-family dwelling units, which would be regulated by an associate Master Plan Unit Development zoning.

The proposed 120-unit subdivision would result in 22 students for Pine View Elementary, 12 students for Pine View Middle and 15 students for Land O’ Lakes High School

Commissioners are expected to consider the final adoption for the land-use change on May 21.

  • Adopted a change to the county’s land-use map to allow a commercial development on 2.51 acres that previously was designated for residential use. The site is east of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, and 778 feet south of Wilderness Lakes Boulevard. The applicant is proposing 8,600 square feet of office uses and 9,800 square feet of office/retail, for a total of 18,400 nonresidential uses.

The county’s planning staff and its planning commission recommended approval of the request. The project is consistent with surrounding Wilderness Commons, Shamrock Plaza and Caliente Resort, according to planners.

The Planning Commission:

  • Approved a request by the Susan A. MacManus Living Trust to rezone a 5-acre site on the west side of Collier Parkway, about 300 feet south of Weeks Boulevard, extending west to Old Collier Road. The current zoning is agricultural. The proposed zoning would allow a professional office district. The current site is unimproved; the applicant proposes a 43,000-square-foot professional office park. The surrounding area is characterized by educational and religious institutions, mixed commercial and residential. County planners recommend approval. The Pasco County Commission, which has final jurisdiction, is scheduled to hear the request on April 23, at 1:30 p.m. at the Government Center in New Port Richey.
  • Approved a request by Starkey Ranch Investment Company LLC to rezone 2.86 acres at the northwest corner of Starkey and Rangeland boulevards. The current zoning is agricultural; the proposed zoning is neighborhood commercial. Planners recommended approval of the request. The Pasco County Commission, which has final jurisdiction, is scheduled to hear the request on April 23 at 1:30 p.m., at the Government Center in New Port Richey.

Published April 17, 2019

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: Caliente Boulevard, Caliente Resort, Collier Parkway, Department of Economic Opportunity, Ehren Cutoff, Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O' Lakes High School, Pasco County Commission, Pasco County Planning Commission, Pine View Elementary, Rangeland Boulevard, Shamrock Plaza, Starkey Boulevard, Starkey Ranch Investment Company, Weeks Boulevard, Wilderness Commons, Wilderness Lakes Boulevard

Construction begins to link recreational trails

November 7, 2018 By B.C. Manion

Pasco County’s engineering services had an event on Oct. 30 to celebrate the construction of the new Starkey Gap Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail that will link the Starkey and Suncoast Trails in Pasco County to the Pinellas Trail.

Construction of the new multi-use 2.4 mile-trail is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.

Some cyclists were among those gathered to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Starkey Gap Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

Once the segment is finished, it will provide connectivity to a trail that’s now more than 100 miles and continues to grow.

Construction of the Starkey Gap Trail is being funded and managed by the Florida Department of Transportation. After the trail is built, Pasco County will assume management of the trail.

This section of the trail is the last link of the Coast to Coast Connector Trail to be built in Pasco County. Once the Coast to Coast Connector Trail is completed, the network will stretch approximately 250 miles  — from St. Petersburg to Titusville.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who has played an instrumental role in addressing the need for recreational trails in Pasco, and across Florida, commented on the importance of this and other trail projects during an interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

“Before there ever was a Coast-to-Coast, we had this wonderful trail through Starkey Wilderness Park, which is a real jewel and it connects to the Suncoast Trail, which takes you all of the way up to Citrus County.

“The experiences on both trails are different, but they’re very special to serious cyclists.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey has a keen interest in linking Florida’s recreational trails together. She spoke during a recent event to celebrate the beginning of construction for the Starkey Gap Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail that will link the Starkey and Suncoast Trails in Pasco County to the Pinellas Trail.

“And then, you have the Pinellas Trail, which is a real economic driver for communities along that trail. It’s world famous.

“And, it just made so much sense to connect the two,” Starkey said.

She noted that she served on Florida’s Greenways and Trails Council, under governors Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott.

While serving on that council during Bush’s administration, she said she learned about trails all over the state, and it just made sense to link those trails.

She was involved in linking the Starkey Trail to the Suncoast Trail, which provided a 100-mile trail, she said.

After that, she got started on working on the Starkey Gap link.

The Starkey Gap project will build a new 2.4-mile long multi-use trail from the Pasco/Pinellas County line to the southern end of the Starkey Trail, north of State Road 54 in Pasco County.

The trail will follow the Duke Energy right of way to State Road 54, west along SR 54 to Starkey Boulevard and then north to Starkey Trail.

The construction cost for the project is estimated at $2,615,000, according to a Florida Department of Transportation fact sheet. The work will be done by D.A.B. Constructors Inc., the fact sheet says.

Published November 7, 2018

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: Charlie Crist, Coast-to-Coast Connector Trail, DAB Constructors, Du, Duke Energy, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Greenways and Trails Council, Jeb Bush, Kathryn Starkey, Pinellas Trail, Rick Scott, Starkey Boulevard, Starkey Gap Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail, Starkey Trail, Starkey Wilderness Park, State Road 54, Suncoast Trail

Pasco commissioners seek way to stop panhandlers

October 17, 2018 By B.C. Manion

They already have an ordinance on the books that addresses panhandlers, and another one that addresses trespassing.

But, the Pasco County Commission still hasn’t found an effective way to put a stop to panhandling.

“We have a panhandling ordinance in place. We write a lot of tickets to all of the people that are doing the panhandling. One gentleman has 240 tickets,” Commissioner Jack Mariano said during the commission’s Oct. 9 board meeting.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano (File)

Pasco County sheriff’s deputies don’t know what else to do, he said.

“They don’t want to take them to jail to fill up the jail. What do you do next?” the commissioner said.

Mariano has an idea.

He wants to try to dissuade people from giving donations to panhandlers.

He wants the county to send a message that “we don’t want you donating to the panhandlers.”

He thinks that would help put a stop to the panhandling problem.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey agrees that there’s a problem. She told her colleagues that she was aware of a panhandler working on one side of a turn-lane on Starkey Boulevard who was cited, so he simply moved to the other side of the road.

“Apparently, it’s site specific when you cite them. I think we have to readdress that ordinance,” Starkey said. She thinks the ordinance should address panhandling that happens anywhere in the county.

Senior Assistant County Attorney Kristi Sims explained the actions the board has taken to date.

“So, when the board enacted its ordinance concerning road solicitation, or panhandling — that is a civil violation and yes, tickets were written,” Sims said. “People would turn the tickets over and use them as another sign, on the backs of their tickets. It was not being paid. It wasn’t particularly effective with some of the panhandlers in the county.

“If you’ll recall, when it started, it (panhandling) was ubiquitous — on almost every corner and growing.

“There was certainly a hard-core population of people who are violating the road solicitation ordinance, so this board went further and implemented a trespass ordinance that allows the sheriff to trespass them off of public property, intersections and yes, that is site specific,” the attorney said.

If that’s not working, Sims suggested two options. One would be to work harder on the trespass option, or two, violation of the ordinance is theoretically punishable by up to 60 days in jail.

“However, we would need to fund and pay for representation for indigent defendants to do that,” she said.

“The only thing left is jail,” Sims said. “I can’t make a certain segment of panhandlers care that they’ve received a citation.”

Mariano thinks the county should warn people who are giving to panhandlers that they should stop doing so.

“I think when someone gets a couple of warnings, they’re going to stop. When the panhandlers see that these people are being warned not to donate, I think we can deter it that way.

“Because obviously, what we’re doing is not working. We need some type of change. I think this is something, that this would be a very positive move to try to diminish what’s happening out there,” Mariano said.

Commission Chairman Mike Wells Jr., said he favors taking action to reduce panhandling because he worries about the safety of people who are seeking donations.

Mariano suggested having a workshop to discuss updating the ordinance, and commissioners asked County Administrator Dan Biles to put together a list of the county’s priorities so they can discuss during their next meeting when they might want to set up that workshop.

Biles agreed to bring back that list.

Published October 17, 2018

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: Dan Biles, Jack Mariano, Kathryn Starkey, Kristi Sims, Mike Wells Jr., panhandling, Pasco County Commission, Starkey Boulevard

Pasco creates Ridge Road Extension website

August 29, 2018 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Pasco County’s engineering service department has created a website that tracks progress of the proposed Ridge Road Extension project.

The website (bit.ly/RidgeRoadProject) provides information about the history of the project, a project overview, current activities, a project fact sheet and the latest information.

The road is intended to improve east-west roadway capacity and enhance overall mobility within the area bounded by State Road 52 to the north and State Road 54 to the south, U.S. 41 to the east and Moon Lake Road, Decubellis Road and Starkey Boulevard to the west, according to the website.

The project will also provide additional roadway capacity and improved routing away from coastal hazard areas, and improve hurricane evacuation clearance times in the event of a hurricane or other major weather-related occurrence, the website adds.

The county has sought approval for the road project for about two decades. The proposed 8-mile extension would link Moon Lake Road in West Pasco to U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes.

The county has identified the road extension as a priority, but it continues to face opposition because a part of the project would cut through a portion of the Serenova Preserve.

Detailed construction plans are being prepared and are anticipated to be completed prior to the permit decision.

The county expects a permit decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in late Summer 2019, according to the website.

Published August 29, 2018

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: DeCubellis Road, Land O' Lakes, Moon Lake Road, Ridge Road extension, Serenova Preserve, Starkey Boulevard, State Road 52, State Road 54, U.S. 41, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Ridge Road extension needed to avert potential disaster

August 24, 2016 By Tom Jackson

There I was on a recent Monday morning, headed west on State Road 54 on my way to one of the several part-time jobs that occupy me since the demise of the Tampa Tribune.

And, it was all good.

I had my podcast going on. I was making good time. The consumption indicator in my car’s computer reported I was cruising at more than 40 miles per gallon. As much as a 60-something guy not on his way to play golf on a weekday could be, I was content.

Then, seconds past the railroad crossing at Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, there it was: a sea of glowing brake lights announcing a three-lane parking lot stretching around the gentle bend leading to Oakstead.

Sam Beneck, Pasco County’s Ridge Road project manager, and Margaret Smith, the county’s engineering services director, stand in the are where the Ridge Road extension would go. (Tom Jackson/Photo)
Sam Beneck, Pasco County’s Ridge Road project manager, and Margaret Smith, the county’s engineering services director, stand in the are where the Ridge Road extension would go.
(Tom Jackson/Photo)

Ahead, a Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy’s patrol car sat broadside to the stopped traffic near a break in the median. And beyond, past another half-mile of stopped traffic, by the landmark sign for Stonegate, flashed the lights of a rescue vehicle.

We sat like that for 20-odd minutes, until the deputy whose car blocked our path began directing us through the median cut that ordinarily was off-limits to westbound travelers.

I can’t say how long traffic was blocked, or how long it had been stymied when I came upon it. Neither the sheriff’s office nor the Florida Highway Patrol could produce a record of the incident.

But, while I am left to guess at the duration, I’m certain about the rest: For at least an hour, if not longer, on that recent Monday morning, all of Pasco County east of U.S. 41 was one incident on State Road 52 from being cut off from the western half of the county, including Sunlake High School, the Suncoast Parkway, the west-side government complex, Trinity, U.S. 19 and the Gulf.

What would it have taken? Another gas leak, like the one that shut down State Road 54 near Starkey Boulevard in late June, would have done it. Another manhunt like the one in early June near Safety Town. A mishap in a construction zone. Something going wrong at the CSX crossing. A sinkhole.

That morning it was westbound traffic under threat. Tomorrow it could be eastbound, or, with just the right confluence of misadventures, all traffic in both directions.

Clearly, two east-west thoroughfares, separated by a dozen miles, are no longer sufficient for a county of nearly 465,000 extremely mobile residents, and who knows how many more passing through. If only Pasco planners had some sort of strategy to address this looming concern.

Oh, wait. They do.

It’s called the Ridge Road extension, an 8-mile, multi-lane, limited-access highway that, while splitting the difference between state roads 52 and 54, would provide a vital third link between New Port Richey and Land O’ Lakes.

It’s been part of the county’s comprehensive transportation plan since before we knew about Monica and Bill, before the dot-com bubble, even before smartphones. The Ridge Road extension plan has been around so long, biker jackets and real estate had time to be cool, fall out of favor and become cool again.

And, with certain construction caveats, building it ought to be a no-brainer.

Which is where Margaret Smith and Sam Beneck, a couple of affable civil engineers who love making things work better, come in. Smith, as director of engineering services for Pasco County, is Beneck’s boss. Beneck, 31, a Virginia Tech graduate who cut his transportation teeth trying to improve the commuting nightmare around Washington D.C., is the Ridge Road extension project manager.

Everything that worries me about having just two east-west thoroughfares concerns them, too, but they absolutely obsess about what happens when everybody living along the U.S. 19 corridor waits (as you know they will) until the very last moment before fleeing for high ground in the face of the inevitable Big One. Or the Sort-of-Big or even Medium One, given how much of the coast, from Palm Harbor north, is floodplain.

As Beneck explains, by the time the first bands of a serious tropical event arrive, “The Courtney Campbell Causeway is going to be underwater. Everybody in northern Pinellas is going to be coming north.”

On a good day, there’s not enough space on State Road 54 to accommodate everybody, even if authorities converted all of it to one-way eastbound. When the bad day happens — engineers don’t deal in “if” — Pasco will need another eastbound artery.

As my recent Monday scenario demonstrated, Pasco already does.

Environmentalists reliably push back, claiming any number of things that either aren’t necessarily true, or authorities could prevent.

For instance, the Ridge Road extension would go through the Serenova Preserve, which was set aside as mitigation for the Suncoast Parkway. Why put a highway through a mitigation zone?

Because the Serenova agreement anticipated the extension; proof is in the expensive overpass at the Suncoast’s Mile Marker 25.2, precisely where the extension is projected to emerge from the Serenova and link up with the toll road before plunging ahead toward Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

But, it will be disruptive to wildlife. Yes. Preserving human life, or simply making it more convenient, sometimes is. Still, highway planners are not heartless. Lots of them — I can cite at least two — love long bicycle rides on paths otherwise set aside for nature.

“That’s why I live in Land O’ Lakes,” Smith says. “I’m never more than 10 minutes from a park.”

Accordingly, the project calls for at least eight wildlife crossings and two bridges, and, according to Smith and Beneck, a rather spectacular bicycle path.

Well, it’ll certainly lead to more development. Well, not in the Serenova. And, if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — whose approval stands between the planners and groundbreaking — stick to its limited-access guns, not much will spring up on the Suncoast-to-U.S. 41 stretch.

All that remains, apparently, is a proper tweaking of the route with an eye to the least possible impact at the best possible construction price. The money is set aside. The time has never been better.

Twin disasters a dozen miles apart is not unimaginable. And, every day that passes without it happening is a day closer to the day it will.

Tom Jackson, a resident of New Tampa, is interested in your ideas. To reach him, email .

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: Courtney Campbell Causeway, Florida Highway Patrol, Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Margaret Smith, New Port Richey, Ridge Road, Sam Beneck, Serenova Preserve, Starkey Boulevard, State Road 52, State Road 54, Stonegate, Suncoast Parkway, Sunlake High School, Tampa Tribune, Trinity, U.S. 19, U.S. 41, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

It’s gas tax decision day Sept. 3

September 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Pasco County commissioners are up against a self-imposed deadline Wednesday where they will have to decide how they are going to fund a needed $8 million for road construction projects in the county.

And while there are really only three primary options on the table — the decision is not expected to be an easy one.

County budget director Annette Stahura is set to present those three options and any others commissioners bring up during what is expected to be a shorter-than-usual meeting in New Port Richey. Commissioners are being asked to either increase local gasoline taxes up to a nickel per gallon, increase property tax rates, or a combination of the two.

Increasing the gas tax is going to be the most difficult way to go, however, with four of the five commissioners needed to approve it. Outgoing commissioner Henry Wilson Jr., has already said he would continue his position from last year and not support increasing the gas tax, while commission chair Jack Mariano has been on the fence, but leaning against the gas tax.

Boosting property taxes, however, only requires three votes, although Commissioner Ted Schrader has said he is against increasing that tax to pay for new roads as long as the gas tax option is available.

Proponents of the gas tax say many consumers may not even feel it. Neighboring counties, they say, increased their gas taxes in recent years, and few of the gas stations actually passed that extra cost on to consumers, members of the county staff said. Those same proponents also discount the impact to businesses and such that need large amounts of fuel, since diesel fuel would not be levied the additional tax.

Those against the gas tax, however, say that there are no guarantees that gas stations won’t increase gas prices to compensate for the additional tax, and that the cost to consumers — including businesses who require large amounts of fuel — is unnecessary.

Each penny of gas tax is expected to generate $1.6 million each year, according to an internal county report. A full gas tax could, however, cost $37.50 more per year for driver, or a little more than $3 per month.

Raising property taxes, however, could have a larger impact to businesses than a fuel tax, according to an internal report. While a 5-cent gas tax would increase costs to small business owner by $250, raising property taxes instead to hit that $8.07 million mark would cost small businesses $478.That is based on a small manufacturing business with $200,000 property value and $1 million tangible property value.

However, the impact to the average homeowner for a property tax increase would be just under $20 a year for the full $8 million, assessed at homes with $100,000 in appraised value and $50,000 in homestead exemptions.

If the commission can’t come to a decision on how to raise the $8 million, seven short-term projects would be delayed up to 10 years. They include:

• Construction of Bell Lake Road from U.S. 41 to Alpine Road — moved from 2015 to 2017

• Right-of-way acquisition to expand DeCubellis Road from two lanes to four lanes from Little Road to Starkey Boulevard — moved from 2017 to 2019

• Creation of an automated traffic management system on County Road 54 and State Road 54 from Progress Parkway to Curley Road — moved from 2017 to 2025

• Right-of-way acquisition to expand County Road 54 from two lanes to four lanes from State Road 54/56 to Progress Parkway — moved from a one-year project to a five-year project.

• Creation of an automated traffic management system on Little Road from Embassy Boulevard to Star Trail — moved from 2018 to 2027.

• Right-of-way acquisition to expand Moon Lake Road from two lanes to four lanes from DeCubellis Road to State Road 52 — moved from a five-year project to a nine year project.

• Construction of Starkey Boulevard from River Crossing Boulevard to DeCubellis Road — moved from 2018 to 2020.

Projects that would be completely moved out of the 15-year plan and placed in limbo include:

• Chancey Parkway from Fox Ridge to Morris Bridge roads
• Collier Parkway from Parkway Boulevard to Ehren Cutoff
• County Line Road North from East Road to Springtime Street
• Moon Lake Road from DeCubellis Road to State Road 52
• Ridge Road extension from Suncoast Parkway to U.S. 41
• Expanding Trinity Boulevard to four lanes from Little Road to State Road 54
• Twenty Mile Level Road from State Road 54 to Collier Parkway
• Two phases of the Zephyrhills Bypass extension, from River Glen Boulevard to Dean Dairy Road

The meeting is set to begin at 9 a.m., at the West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey.

Filed Under: Updates Tagged With: Alpine Road, Annette Stahura, Bell Lake Road, Chancey Parkway, Collier Parkway, County Line Road North, County Road 54, Curley Road, DeCubellis Road, East Road, Ehren Cutoff, Embassy Boulevard, Fox Ridge Road, Henry Wilson Jr., Jack Mariano, Little Road, Moon Lake Road, Morris Bridge Road, New Port Richey, Parkway Boulevard, Pasco County, Progress Parkway, Ridge Road, River Crossing Boulevard, Springtime Street, Star Trail, Starkey Boulevard, State Road 52, State Road 54, State Road 56, Suncoast Parkway, Ted Schrader, U.S. 41

Time to ride that bike to work

May 15, 2014 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Some Pasco County employees will work to bring more attention to the benefits of biking to work when they ride their own bicycles to the job on May 16.

The ride starts from the corner of Town Avenue and Starkey Boulevard at 7 a.m. It will run north on the path that runs adjacent to Starkey before turning west on DeCubellis Road, and then finally heading north to Little Road, ending at the West Pasco Government Center there. The riders will then make a return trip at 5 p.m.

Bikers who would like to participate are welcome, but they are asked to bring their own water.

The ride coincides with National Bike Month, which has been held since 1956 by the League of American Bicyclists.

“Biking provides many  benefits not only to the cyclist, but to our environment,” said Allen Howell, a bicycle and pedestrian planner for the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization, in a release. “If we get more people to commute to work via bicycle, then we can reduce the amount of cars on the roads, thus reducing the greenhouse gases. It’s a small start, but it’s a start in the right direction.”

Howell reviews bicycle and pedestrian master plans for the county, and coordinates with adjacent counties and municipalities for long-range trail planning. He is part of the team that is reviewing the land development code, and says he believes having bike paths and trails is key to getting more people biking to work.

“The county’s goal is to have multi-use trails connecting parks, attractions and neighborhoods,” Howell said. “We’d like bike paths to be a minimum of 10 feet, with an idea width of 15 feet.”

By building bike paths to that width, there can be safe, two-way bike traffic plus pedestrian traffic, he added.

For information on the event, call Howell at (727) 847-2411, ext. 8678.

Filed Under: Updates Tagged With: Allen Howell, DeCubellis Road, League of American Bicyclists, Little Road, Pasco County, Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization, Starkey Boulevard, Town Avenue, West Pasco Government Center

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The Pasco County Library Cooperative will host a virtual craft for toddlers on Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. Participants can learn how to make a paper plate shark. To view the video, visit Facebook.com/cplib. … [Read More...] about 01/30/2021 – Toddler craft

01/31/2021 – Nova Era performs

The Pioneer Florida Museum and Village, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City, will host a live performance by the classical music group Nova Era on Jan. 31 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The ensemble performs in handcrafted 18th-century costumes and ornate, powdered wigs. Gates open at 2 p.m. There will be heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. This is an outdoor event. Guests should bring lawn chairs. No cooler or pets. Masks are required inside the buildings. Social distancing will be in place. Advance tickets are $25, or $30 at the door (if available). For information and tickets, visit PioneerFloridaMuseum.org. … [Read More...] about 01/31/2021 – Nova Era performs

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