HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetters On Future of Trail-1996 Is the Cross Seminole trail an opportunity lost?
Editor,
As you are probably aware,the Trail is the communities in general.This is not specn-
under assault at the cabinet level.The follow- lation:the City of Dunedin on the Pinellas Trail
ing is an edited version of the two letters and Winter Garden on the West OrangeTJail
we've sent to the Cabinet and Governor. have shown how a trail benefits a community.
The Cross-Seminole Trail winds through 4. The Cross-Seminole Trail can be
a rapidly developing part of metro Orlando, linked to the successful Cady Way Trail in
preserving a ribbon of green as it connects WinterParkandispart of the Central Florida
five schools, three parks,two office centers Loop. It will also help bridge a gap in the
and five shopping centers to residential ar- Florida Trail along the south shore of Lake
eas.It goes the length of the Goldenrod coin- Jesup(one of the State's official Greenways).
munity and has been enthusiastically en- If we let the Cross-Seminole Trail slip away,
dorsed by their chamber of commerce. The the Cady Way connection becomes pointless;
Trail goes into downtown Oviedo and will the gap in the Florida Trail will probably be
boost downtown redevelopment In Winter Permanent
Springs,the Trail arcs around the new City It would be nice if the railroad were bliss-
Hall and passes between Winter Springs High fully ignorant of all this,but the II months of
School and Central Winds Park. Along the negotiations would seem to indicate other-
way,the Trail will be easily accessed by thou- wise.They probably understand that this trail
sands of residents.This Trail is a key part of is alinchpin for other trails.They must realize
our growing regional trail system. that it(the trail)is more valuable whole than
In the article,"State walks away from deal fragmented Alin,even fragmented,the area's
to buy land for Seminole Trail,"in the Sep- growth will keep up the price of the pieces.
tember27 issue of the Orlando Sentinel,Comp- I would suggest that a better yardstick
trofler Mulligan said,"I just have a little trouble for the price is the cost per mile, like a road
with a price of$75,000 an acre for an aban- right-of-way. In the case of the Cross-Semi-
doned railroad." nole Trail,FDOT is buying 1.8 miles of it for
It seems to me that'price per acre"is trot right-of-way to widen SR 426. (By the way,
the right way to look at this,for the following they're on board with the Trail,having said
reasons: that provision will be made for the Trail
1. What we are buying is 15.75 unbro- t roughthe section they are buying,for which
ken miles of recreational trail.The Cross-Semi- we are very thankful.)By my reckoning,their
nole Trail is not simply a 95-acre patch of Price per mile is 1.6 times what would be paid
woods. If we doubled the width of the corn- for the rest of the Trail: this would seem to
dor, we'd double the acreage, but not the answer the concern that the railroad ought to
value.The value of a trail,like a road,is in "gave us a break."
where it goes,and what it connects. What we have here is a corridor that's
z The Cross-Seminole Trail is on a rap available in the right place at the right time.
idly growing edge of metropolitan Orlando.It We can put almost 16 miles of recreational
passes near State Roads 426 and 434,which trail in place ahead of the suburban develop-
are being widened to 4 lanes; it passes by ment.The trail can lead the development,in-
many subdivisions.The ongoing development stead of being shoe-horned in as an after-
tends to drive up the price of the land. It is thought. It's a chance to show builders that
also why this Trail is so needed. trails are an asset to their neighborhoods,not
3. Being in a populated,growing area a threat to their livelihood. 9 6 /o / 0
means the Cross-Seminole Trail will have bun- The reason the Cross-Seminole Trail has
dreds of thousands of users each year.They enjoyed such broad support here,in the Rec-
will spend millions of dollars.New businesses reational Trails Council,and with the Office
will spring up along the Trail.This will mean of Greenways and Trails,is that it is such a
new construction, renovation,and jobs ere- good opportunity.We shouldn't let it go by.
ation,benefitting not just the Trail users,but Jeffrey Payne,CSTA Chairman
The Trails are ours:
Unique opportunity for
generations to come
To the Editor:
When the purchase of the corridor for
the Cross-Seminole Trail was recently ap-
proved, a unique opportunity was seized. A
ribbon of green in our rapidly growing area
will be preserved for generations to come.
Recreation will be easily accessible to the resi-
dents.Neighborhood,parks,shops and busi-
nesses will be conne`ted for pedestrians,cy-
clist and other Trail users.
On behalf of the Cross-Seminole Trails
Alliance,I'd like to sincerely thank all those
who called,faxed,and wrote to support the
purchase of the Trail.We are also grateful for
the endorsements of the City of Oviedo and
numerous community organizations.The ef-
forts of the following officials when the Trail
was in jeopardy are very much appreciated:
Oviedo Mayor Bruce;Winter Springs Comm.
Gennell;Longood Comm.Carrico;Orlando
Comm.Bagley;Orange Co.Comm Chapin;
State Reps Feeney and Starks; State Sen.
Jennings,Seminole Co.Appraiser Sober and
U.S.Rep.Mica.That sucha lineup is behind
this project really says something.
Special thanks are due to the Seminole
County Commission, especially Comm.
Morris. The Commission caught the vision
for this Trail when it just a hope and adream.
They went beyond just responding to re-
quests, and created a County-Wide Tags and
Greenways Task force,which developed the
trails plan for the entire county.The Cross
Seminole Trail is one of three"showcase"
projects of that plan.Trails and greeneways
in Seminole County took a huge step forward
with the approval of this purchase.To all who
helped,THANK YOU.
Jeffrey Payne
Chairman,CSCA
Oviedo.
54// 07
Cross Seminole Trail
in jeopardy
Eaitre,
Central Florida is very close to losing the
Cross Seminole Trail.This plan is an integral
part of a proposed system that includes over
200 miles of connected trails running through
and around the Orlando area.The Cross Semi-
nole Trail has been in the planning stages for
over two years.In excess of 14 miles,it would
follow the now abandoned CSX rail road tracks
through Winter Springs and Oviedo.The trail
would eventually connect to the already popu-
lar Cady Way and West Orange Trails and
would consist of both paved and unpaved
paths to be enjoyed by bikers, joggers,
rollerbladers,and equestrians.
Unfortunately,the Governor has decided
to table the project.This means that the pro-
posal has been placed in limbo and needs to
be saved. If enough of us step forward and
speak up,Governor Chiles may be persuaded
to go ahead with the proposal.Here's how to
make your voice heard(it's very quick and
simple):
*Call(904)4°8 4441(office of Gov.Chiles)
*When the lady answers,tell her that you
are in favor of the "Cross Seminole Trail
project."
It's that easy! You can call as often as
you like,but please call at least once before
October 22.That is the day the Seminole Trail
Project is to be reviewed by the Governor's
committee at the capitol.If we flood his phone
line with calls, he won't be able to deny the
public support for this trail.
The Governor's fax number is(904)921-
6311.His E-mail is Chiles@eog.statell.us
If you have any questions or would like
to sign a petition,please call or stop into A.J.
Barnes Bicycle Emporium in the Red Willow
Plaza on the northeast corner of Red Bug Lake
Rd.and Tuscawilla Rd.;The Artistic Hand in
old Oviedo;orcall696-6555 for more infonna-
tion.
David Lancaster
Winter Springs
g • '0 /7