A new 4.35-mile section of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail is receiving widespread approval from walkers, joggers and cyclists, alike.
“The general feedback has been very positive,” said Forest Turbiville, Hillsborough County’s director of conservation and environmental lands management. “I mean, people love it.”
(Fred Bellet/Photos)
The $6.2 million project, which was unveiled on Dec. 1, featured the completion of the northernmost segment of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, making it the first-paved, multi-use trail constructed in a Hillsborough County preserve.
From the Lutz Lake Fern Road trailhead, the path extends 1.5 miles east and then north to connect with the Suncoast Trail. Additionally, it extends nearly 3 miles to the southwest along the crossing at Lutz Lake Fern Road, as well as nearly 3 miles to the southwest along the edge of Brooker Creek Preserve.
“I think one of the things (that stands out) is that it goes through the edge of a nature preserve, and I think that really makes it unique,” Turbiville said. “To have 4.5 miles of new trail, the majority of it going through a nature preserve, gives the user that different experience maybe from some other parts of the county that are more developed.”
Since it’s opening, the new section has been a hot spot for exercisers looking to distance themselves from the noise and commotion of city life.
“Oh, I love it. It’s great,” said 41-year-old walker Jeff Hebrank of Odessa. “You’re walking out in the woods, away from the traffic. It’s nice and quiet. It’s beautiful with natural surroundings.”
Polk County resident Paula Mitchell, 64, said the trail’s new section is “a wonderful place to walk.”
“The trail has more nature than the part heading up along the Suncoast Parkway, which is not as picturesque because you’re along the highway,” said Mitchell, who spends her weekends in Lutz. “The (new trail) has a lot shade and foot trails where you can get off the paved area and go hiking through the woods.”
Seventy-year-old Bob Zook, a seasonal resident from Columbus, Ohio, was especially impressed with the trail’s mix of “beauty” and “scenery.”
“It’s a combination of what I’d call ‘Old Florida’ and some of the newer, more modern parts of Florida,” said Zook, who leads a senior citizens biking group in New Port Richey. “It goes all the way out to the Suncoast Trail, so you have the combination of going along a busy highway versus being out in the middle of basically nowhere. Quite often, that’s what bikers like—a variety of scenery.”
Zook remarked that it is one of “prettier trails” he’s ridden on over the years.
“It’s obvious (Hillsborough County) spent an awful lot of money on it,” he added.
Lutz resident Mike Lopez, 51, who typically rides his bike about 10 miles per week on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, commended Hillsborough County officials for doing a “great job” with the new section.
“At first I thought: ‘What are they doing? Why are they putting this trail in?’ “But, after I rode it, the first thing I thought was, ‘Oh, it’s so nice. Finally, my taxpayer dollars are being used for something I like,’ ” Lopez said.
Lopez enjoys the convenience of a signalized crossing at Lutz Lake Fern Road, where he can ride his bike directly from his home to the trailhead, without having to worry about using a car and having to pay a $2 parking fee.
“It’s very relaxing to get away from a hard day’s work,” he said. “Just one subdivision over and the next thing you know, you’re in the woods.”
The signalized crossing is not only convenient for nearby residents, but it makes getting to the trail via bicycle much safer, especially when accompanied with children.
“I hated crossing over (State Road) 54 because of my kids, so I wouldn’t always take them,” said 47-year-old Corinne Wolthuis, of Lutz. “But, now it’s nice because we can really ride in that trail, and if they want to stop and walk, they can. It’s nice, because we can ride from our neighborhood on the sidewalk, and then when we get to the trail, we just have that one little path that we have to cross over where they put a stoplight.”
Wolthuis was impressed by the added amenities at the new Lutz Lake Fern Road trailhead, which features a rest area, water stations and several picnic tables and benches to utilize after a long walk or bike ride.
Before the new trailhead facilities opened, Wolthuis said she would have to leave the trail entirely, so her 6-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl could use a restroom at a nearby fast-food restaurant or department store.
The only issue Wolthuis has come across is the trail can be difficult to navigate when there are large crowds of people walking in groups with their pets.
One time, she almost got into a wreck, because a dog was in her pathway as she was biking along the trail.
“I was coming around a corner pretty quick, and the dog was on the leash but kind of extended out, and if the owner didn’t pull him back quick enough, it would have been a disaster,” Wolthuis said. “I’m not saying we should exclude the dogs, but that would be the only thing, especially when it’s very, very congested like that, and you’ve got bikes, people rollerblading and then you mix dogs in there on a long leash; you can forget it.
“I don’t know really how to fix that. You just have to kind of be aware of your surroundings,” she said.
When less congested, the 12-foot asphalt path has proven to be wide enough for more avid cyclists like 53-year-old Jim Griffin, of Odessa, to safely make wide turns at high rates of speed.
“They’ve cleared the vegetation off so you can see ahead of you as you’re making these large sweeping turns,” said Griffin, who uses a 22-speed racing bike to ride 100 miles per week. “It’s very important because…I’m riding a racing bike with skinny tires and 120 pounds of pressure in them. …We’re running 20 miles per hour average.
“They’ve got it set to where you come on a turn, you can see clearly ahead,” said Griffin, a member of the West Coast Florida Cycling Club in Tampa.
The new section’s grand opening was scheduled in August, but delayed until December because of flooding.
“If I have a complaint with it, it’s during rainy season,” Griffin said. “It was in the water; spots where water was covering it, so they postponed the grand opening. They did some remediation, and it looks like they got into some ducts and trenches and pits to keep the water from crossing the trail.”
With the trail free of flooding, and open every day from dawn to dusk, Griffin has found it to be a “beautiful” location to train with his 55-member cycling group,
“We use it a lot. A lot,” he stated.
New additions to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail
What: A 4.35-mile multi-use trail that marks the completion of the northernmost portion of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, making it the first paved trail in a Hillsborough County preserve.
Where: 7020 Lutz Lake Fern Road
When: Open every day from dawn to dusk
How much: $2 daily car parking fee
For more information, visit HillsboroughCounty.org/UTBTrail.
Published January 13, 2016
