SWFBUD -- South West Florida Bicyclists United With Dealers: Pinellas Public Works Officials Oppose Draft Plan To Transform Friendship TrailBridge

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Pinellas Public Works Officials Oppose Draft Plan To Transform Friendship TrailBridge

I was not surprised to hear this afternoon that Pinellas County public works officials have recommended against a very cool new draft plan submitted last week that would transform the closed Friendship TrailBridge into a world-class linear park across the Bay connecting Tampa and St. Petersburg.

My good friend Mitch Perry at Creative Loafing did an update story today explaining Pinellas public works officials opposed the draft plan. Pinellas is taking a look at the FTB draft plan because both Pinellas and Hillsborough jointly own the TrailBridge, which has been closed since November of 2008.

What's very disappointing about Pinellas County's action is that the public works staff didn't even show the professional courtesy of meeting the FTB draft plan's authors, Kevin Thurmon and Ken Cowart, to discuss the issues with the draft report.

Kevin and Ken would be happy to meet Pinellas staff to address the county's concerns.

Pinellas' opposition to infusing new life into the FTB does not surprise me because I lobbied the Pinellas county commission three years ago on behalf of SWFBUD to apply for federal funds to repair the FTB. But the Pinellas commissioners voted 7-0 at the time to not even apply for federal money.

Fast-forward three years and Pinellas staff this week opposed repairing the FTB. Mitch's story offers some details on why Pinellas staff opposed the draft plan and includes Kevin's good comment about all we want is a meeting to discuss the draft report.

http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2012/05/15/pinellas-county-staff-recommends-against-friendship-trail-bridge-proposal#.T7LFPZ9YuQw

The Pinellas public official, Jorge Quintas, spoke with Mitch Perry but did not even have the decency to talk with the report's authors, Kevin and Ken.

Meanwhile on the Hillsborough County side of the Bay, Hillsborough public works staff is still reviewing the draft FTB plan.

How can you help?

Please write or call the Pinellas County commissioners to advise them to have Pinellas public works staff officials meet with Kevin and Ken to discuss the FTB draft plan. Use this link to contact the Pinellas commissioners: http://www.pinellascounty.org/commission/default.htm

And please continue calling and writing the Hillsborough County Commissioners and tell them to support the FTB draft plan. Contact Hillsborough commissioners at this link: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/bocc/about/contactus.cfm

And here are your talking points (which ran in a previous Patch blog post): http://seminoleheights.patch.com/blog_posts/tips-to-write-a-letter-to-county-commissioners-to-save-the-friendship-trailbridge

No comments:

WHAT IS SWFBUD and HOW DID IT START?

SWFBUD (South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers) is a Tampa Bay bicycle advocacy alliance of 12 bicycle store dealers and four law firms committed to raising the profile of bicycling in the Tampa Bay market, getting more people on bicycles and drawing more public resources for bicycling.

The 12 bike shops are: ABC Bicycles, Bicycle Outfitters, Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium, Chainwheel Drive, Just Ride Bicycles, Oliver's Cycle Sports, Street Fit 360, Trek Bicycle Store of Tampa and Clearwater, Trek Bicycle Store of St. Petersburg, The Ironman Store, University Bicycle Center and Velo Champ. The four law firms are Tom Singletary, J. Steele Olmstead and the Mark Roman Law Group.

The SWFBUD members enlist Alan Snel, a bicycle advocate and former metro newspaper reporter, to lobby local governments to provide more bicycle resources and to put on the Bicycle Bash festival.

SWFBUD is a play on words of Swiftmud, the Tampa Bay water district agency.

SWFBUD traces its roots to the summer of 2006, when then-Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium owner David Luppino (who now owns Just Ride Bicycles) hired Snel for promotions, marketing and to help put on the Bicycle Bash festival. At the start of 2007, Luppino believed it was appropriate that other Tampa Bay bike stores get involved in promoting bicycling, so Snel recruited other store dealers to get involved.

The Bicycle Bash was first held in October 2006 on the St. Pete Times Forum plaza before a Tampa Bay Lightning afternoon hockey game before SWFBUD moved the Bicycle Bash to St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park in 2007 and 2008 and to North Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg in 2009. In 2010, the Bicycle Bash was moved into Hillsborough County's Flatwoods Park on Nov. 7 so that bicyclists can enjoy the Bash's exhibitor village and also have fun doing live biking in the park. In 2011, the Bicycle Bash will be held again at Flatwoods Park on NOV 6.

SWFBUD won national retail bicycle advocacy awards in 2009 from the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) and the Trek Bicycle Corporation. The Bicycle Bash won the Florida Event of the Year in 2007 from the Florida Bicycle Association.

SWFBUD's Snel attends many public meetings in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, plus the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. to lobby political leaders and governing agencies to commit more resources to bicycling. SWFBUD believes communities that embrace and invest in bicycling become more successful and sustainable.

Flatwoods Park Ranger Thanks SWFBUD For Saving Park and Jobs

SWFBUD Wins National Bicycle Advocacy Award

The national magazine that covers the bicycle industry in this country honored SWFBUD with the 2009 Bicycle Retail Advocacy Award at the Bicycle Leadership Conference in Monterey, Calif. SWFBUD is deeply honored by this national recognition and I received the award from Megan Tompkins, editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, and Tim Blumenthal, executive editor of Bikes Belong Coalition. Click photo for more info and check SP Times story, too: http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article996595.ece