The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization has approved a proposed bicycle route through Pasco County to be part of the U.S Bicycle Route System.
The countywide transportation planning agency has agreed to a route proposed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which is working to expand the national bike route system.
The draft enters Pasco on the Withlacoochee State Trail, then goes to U.S. 301, Christian Road, Powerline Road, Frazee Hill Road, 14th Street, U.S. 301 and State Road 39.
The route going through Pasco is U.S. Bicycle Route 15, which will be a designated route for cyclists traveling through the Florida Gulf Coast.
Currently, the route is only in southern Georgia, 92 miles from Fitzgerald, Georgia, and in northern Florida, from the Georgia line to Madison.
The proposal is to extend it from Madison to Miami, which is 496 additional miles, according to materials in the Pasco MPO’s agenda packet.
The Pasco MPO’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee recommended approval of the proposed route, with the caveat that Pasco has safe alternative routes in addition to the route chosen by the national group.
Pasco officials favor the extension of the national bicycle route through the county because it fits in with the county’s tourism development goals.
Published September 20, 2023
