Pinellas Trail is southern standout

Southern Living magazine touts the 34-mile route as one of its favorite rails-to-trails projects.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 28, 2002

The Fred E. Marquis Pinellas Trail is receiving some national recognition thanks to a magazine known for exquisite taste.

In "Our Best 202 Favorite Things About the South," Southern Living magazine named the popular 34-mile recreation route one of the best rails-to-trails bicycle paths in the southern United States.

"I'm not surprised," said Kevin Robinson, a hair stylist who logs 20 miles in-line skating and biking on the trail every weekday, when told of the honor. "(The trail) is beautiful ... nice and smooth."

The story appeared in Southern Living's March 2002 special "favorites" publication mailed to more than 2-million subscribers and sold at newsstands throughout the United States.

Tucked among an extensive inventory of Southern delicacies, dining spots and destinations is a small item with the editor's picks for best paths created from abandoned railroad tracks. They are the Katy Trail in Missouri, Greenbrier River Trail in West Virginia, C&O Canal National Historical Park in Washington, D.C., and the Pinellas Trail.

"This is a special interest publication," said Michael Jones, director of corporate communications for Southern Progress, publisher of Southern Living. "Favorites is a compilation of favorite home decoration ideas and designs, favorite recipes, favorite travel destinations. It's basically the editors and writers sitting around a table saying, "Okay, we've been here, we've been there. What are our favorite things and places?' "

They apparently were impressed with the trail, a paved corridor that extends from the south of St. Petersburg through Seminole, Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin, Ozona, Palm Harbor and Crystal Beach to Tarpon Springs.

The trail, renamed in 2000 after Fred E. Marquis, the longtime county administrator, is used by 90,000 people each month.

"We're very excited," said Jon Russell, acting pedestrian-bikeway coordinator who said he was unaware of the designation. "It shows many communities have worked hard to make this a reality."

Bud Bradley, chairman of the Bicycle Advisory Committee for the 23-member Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, also was in the dark about the honor, but said he thinks he knows why Southern Living chose it.

"The Pinellas Trail has many unique features," Bradley said. "First of all, its length (stands) out, and it's soon to be much longer. It's also unique in that it's close to a concentrated population and the fact that it's paved. Not all of these trails are paved. It's also very well-planned. The width accommodates every mode of athletic endeavor, whether it's walking, running or skating. You can really measure its success by the amount of people who use it. It's in the millions."

Robinson, 35, who cuts and highlights hair at Gregory's Salon in Dunedin, has used the trail for more than a year to train for the AIDS Vaccine Ride, a 250-mile bike trek from Amsterdam to Paris in July 2003. He is making the ride in honor of his brother who is HIV-positive.

Every morning, he laces on his inline skates and jumps on the trail at Main Street in Dunedin and skates to Tarpon Springs. In the evening, he rides his bike along the same route.

"It's not overly packed," Robinson said. "And I like that it's safe. There are a lot of rangers. I see them every half-hour or so. We see rabbits every time. And we go close to the water. It's a great view."

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