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Project Themes

Completing the Pinellas Trail Loop:

• Fosters a safe, connected and accessible transportation system, through a 75 mile uninterrupted multimodal transportation facility that connects to 92 schools and 192 major employers (within one half mile).
• Creates a reliable multimodal network, improving the efficiency of the road network, while providing an option for movement of non-motorized travelers.
• Improves economic mobility, bringing an estimated 487,800 residents and 280,700 jobs within one-half mile of the 75 mile, uninterrupted, non-motorized transportation facility. More than half of the county’s population will live within one-mile of the completed Loop.
• Provides economic opportunities, enhancing economic competitiveness by connecting residents, particularly those are currently disadvantaged, with employment, education, commercial and recreational destinations, drawing tourists to the area, and attracting new businesses along and near the corridor.
• Increases community transportation choices, benefiting low-income and minority neighborhoods with direct access to this multi-modal transportation facility and enhanced connections to transit, schools, commercial centers, employment, recreational and cultural facilities and community and health services.
• Avoids adverse environmental impacts on air quality, providing bicyclists and pedestrians with a reliable transportation alternative, reducing greenhouse gas emissions as cars are taken off the roadways.

In 2013, Pinellas County experienced 1,124 pedestrian and bicycle crashes. 34 of these were fatal. 13 pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and 68 injuries occurred within one (1) mile of the Gaps. (Pinellas County Crash Data Management System, 2013)

Transportation Challenges

Pinellas County is unique in the State of Florida. It is one of the smallest counties in the State and, at 3,309 persons per square mile, has densities unlike any other county in Florida (Broward, having 1,445 persons per square mile, is the next most dense). Pinellas County’s local governments have aggressively expanded the sidewalk and bicycle lanes network to meet increased demand from its residents. Currently, there are 692.7 miles of sidewalk and 178.9 miles of bicycle lanes (2014 Pinellas County MPO State of the System Report) countywide, but more still needs to be done. For example, 233 miles of additional sidewalk gaps have been identified and only 19.3 percent of roads have bicycle lanes. Public health officials have also awarded grants to the Pinellas County MPO as well as many local governments to assist in the development of plans and construction of infrastructure that promote physical activity, combat chronic disease, and expand mobility choices.These efforts contribute to further the goals of Pinellas By Design: An Economic Development & Redevelopment Plan for the Pinellas Community and the Pinellas Countywide Land Use Plan.

Pinellas County experiences high levels of pedestrian and bicycle crashes, due largely to the current transportation network and its relationship to nearby land uses. Pinellas County has a legacy of roadways that fail to account for the safety of people on foot and on bicycle that it is working to address. The urgent need to act is compounded by projected demographic changes as well. The County’s older population will grow rapidly as the “Baby-Boom” generation ages and the number of racial and ethnic minorities rises. These groups, along with children, are disproportionately represented in pedestrian deaths.

Pinellas County also suffers from crippling levels of vehicle congestion due to our high population density, suburban development patterns, and lack of interconnected transportation choices for mobility. For example, in 2013, 20.3% of Pinellas County’s 2,285 lane miles operated under congested conditions and 35 roadway facilities/segments were identified with a duration of congestion of 10 hours or greater (2014 Pinellas County MPO State of the System Report). A closer review of these facilities and segments through the MPO’s congestion management process has determined that a combination of operational improvements, travel demand management, and a more diversified transportation network are needed to reduce our congestions levels.

The completion of the Pinellas Trail Loop will help drive down these statistics by taking automobiles off the road and providing a safe haven for pedestrian and bicycle travel.The first Loop segments opened in 1990 on an abandoned railroad line. Since then, this 15-foot wide trail has represented transformative change in terms of providing a safe, accessible, off-road facility for transportation and recreational needs.

Increasing Economic Opportunities and Regional Mobility

TIGER funding for completion of the Pinellas Trail Loop will connect people, particularly those in need of affordable and equitable transportation options, to major centers of employment, education, and recreation. There are approximately 22,502 people whose income falls under the Federal poverty level that live within 1 mile of the North Gap and South Gap, 45,105 racial and ethnic minorities that live within 1 mile of the North Gap and South Gap, and 8,518 dwelling units within 1 mile of the North Gap and South Gap that do not have access to an automobile (US Census Factfinder).Once the Loop is complete, seniors, working-class families, residents with disabilities, and veterans will have access to a low-cost transportation network that is connected to educational opportunities through the Pinellas Technical Education Center (PTEC), St. Petersburg College, etc. and to jobs through major employers such as Raymond James, Home Shopping Network, Jabil Circuit, etc.The completion of the Pinellas Trail Loop will fill these gaps in the region’s transportation network and serve as a Ladder of Opportunity to improve this population’s economic condition through better access to education and employment.

The North Gap and the South Gap present significant barriers to current and potential trail users by limiting direct access to the trail from high density residential neighborhoods, employment centers, and educational institutions.

Pinellas County commissioned an Economic Development Goal Studyin 2002 to create a path to follow as the County increases in size and to improve the quality of the economy. The Goal Study projected Pinellas County would create 40,000 new jobs from 2003 to 2013 if the community did little or nothing to improve the economy. Since the projections were based upon the county doing little to cause economic growth, the study predicted there would be a decline in employment in the later years as a result of the county reaching a “build‐out” of greenfield industrial property.Due to a “minimum effort” to cause the formation of new primary jobs coupled with the recession experienced in the mid-2000’s, the reality is that Pinellas County has lost about 8,000 primary jobs from 2003 to 2013 (Economic Development Performance Evaluation of Pinellas County, Florida, 2003-2013). Completing the Pinellas Trail Loop will provide a vital economic benefit, connecting people to jobs, while also enhancing the attractiveness of employers around the Loop.