The Parkie

(My apologies for the horrible pun above – steps … pedestrian. Anyway.)

The July meeting was hosted by the NEPNA Livable Streets Coalition chair – Mark Rankin. The City of St. Petersburg Transportation Dept., Neighborhood Partnership, Mayor’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and the City Council – along with many of our neighbors – provided input to the development of our Neighborhood Circulation Plan. We are the first neighborhood in the city to be developing a comprehensive plan to make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. This is all part of continuing effort to make Northeast Park the ideal neighborhood for young families and active adults in St. Petersburg.

Pedestrian Corridors – Mark presented a large map of our neighborhood with highlighted proposed pedestrian corridors. The corridors would include enhanced crosswalks (pedestrian activated lighted beacons) across the busy thoroughfares (40th Avenue and 1st Street) along with additional sidewalks and minimal signage to serve as central pathways to the various destinations in our neighborhood. We received invaluable feedback from our neighbors at the meeting. A digital version of the map will be emailed to our neighbors for comment in the next few weeks. We are looking for as much feedback as possible in developing this plan.

North Bay Trail – The Pinellas Trail that will extend down the east side of 1st Street as a 12-foot wide sidewalk that can accommodate pedestrians and leisure cyclists. This will be a big addition to Northeast Park. (NEPNA Leadership is already planning a 5k to celebrate the opening of the trail – so start training now. You have about 1 – 2 years to get ready!)

Public Art - Council Member Leslie Curran has proposed the inclusion of public art along the North Bay Trail to provide a distinguishing feature of the trail through our neighborhood. Imagine an illuminated art-lined street in our very own neighborhood. More exciting details to follow …

Other Fun Facts:

- Homes with sidewalks have increased property values compared to those without sidewalks.

- The enhanced crosswalks (like the existing one on 1st Street near 37th Avenue) receive 90% compliance from motorists compared to 15% for normal crosswalks.

Thanks to all who attended. We look forward to receiving comments from those that were not able to make it to the July meeting.

And now a video: This is what riding our bikes along the 12-foot wide North Bay Trail will be like (except for the crash at the end!):

- Darren Bishop