PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Riding the Pinellas Trail 30 to 50 miles is a daily routine for cyclist Toby Paul.
“It’s kind of safe, quiet, and I don’t have to worry about the cars too much,” he said.
Theodtis Mayner is also out there daily.
“Usually, I’m out here walking the dog,” he said. “Giving her a break and exercising.”
Mayner and Paul are just two of about two million people who use the 57-mile trail. Like many, they were shocked to hear about the major change coming to the trail. Some straight-up don’t like it.
For the past 30 years, cyclists rode on one side of the trail, and everyone else used the other side. Now, everyone will use the trial on the right-hand side and pass on the left—as drivers do on the roadways.
Some, like Paul, say the change is good.
“Hopefully, it makes an impact,” he said. “If this helps make it safer, then great. We have a lot of tourists—a lot of people who don't know these areas. So getting on this trail, they hesitate, and sometimes it calls people to react rather than respond. Hopefully, it will help that."
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Mayner and others have some concerns.
“Wouldn’t that make it hard for people on the bikes if we are walking in their way?” he asked. “I think it’s going to be more dangerous, in my opinion.”
We took his concerns to Lyle Fowler, the operations manager for Pinellas County Parks and Conservation Resource Department.
“We hope that some of this might be self-regulating and that users can education fellow users and that together everyone can find a way to make it work,” he said.
He said the change is needed because the Pinellas Trail is part of the coast-to-coast trail system connecting with the space coast trail in Melbourne. He said the county got the recommendation for the change from the national rails to trails conservancy. It sets the national standards for trails.
The changes started six months ago in Dunedin, south to St. Pete is next. The whole trail will be changed within two years.
The county has four rangers, two working daily to make sure everyone knows the new rules.
