Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bicyclists Banned From Tampa's New Curtis Hixon Park? Say It Ain't So, Pam

Some blurbs:

-- Looks like Floyd Landis is in hot water with the French as he is accused of hacking into doping records.

-- Even though the city of Tampa's transportation division manager, Jean Dorzback, says in a St. Pete Times story today that her department doesn't have the money for a bike route map for the best routes to the new downtown Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, city transportation staffer John Marsh still wants to hear your suggestions on the best way to bike to this pleasant new park. Contact John at john.marsh@tampagov.net or John.Marsh@ci.tampa.fl.us.

And Karen Kress, my friend at the Tampa Downtown Partnership, tells me a downtown bicycle group is working on a bike route map whether the city officially commits to it or not.

-- Speaking of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, I heard bicyclists are banned from riding their bikes in Tampa's brand new park. I'll find out later today when I bike there and check it out.

3 comments:

Brad said...

Me and four other people were riding around ybor/downtown and decided to check out the new park, and were told by a security guard that we couldn't ride our bikes in the park. This was at 8pm on a weeknight with no one in the park. We were riding around pretty slowly, just taking a look around. Three of us did sprint up that waterfront ramp that faces Kennedy, and when we came back down a security guard was waiting at the bottom and directed us to leave. Ah, Tampa.

GhostRider said...

I rode in the new park the morning of the "grand opening" and toward the end of that same day when there were still hundreds of people milling about. I even rode one of the retaining walls on the upper side of the park.

In neither case did anyone tell me to go away. I think I'll make a point of riding there until the guards get so tired of me they turn their attention to solving the grievous golf-cart caper that occured there a few weeks ago.

Plochman said...

They should also ban the cars driving in and around the park area. If the park is so sacred, ban the people too, make it so you can only see it from a distance or something. Better yet, set up a tent city for the homeless in our new pristine park that people, cars, bicycles, kids, kites, fishermen, tourists, skatboarders and dogs are not allowed into ? Why in the heck are bicyclists banned ? Are we mistakenly rulling out a whole group of people because a small minority of urban riders who "grind" rails or "hop" all over the place might distroy it. I ride a road bike and I dont bother anything. ANOTHER very sad day for a City of Tampa that is too "Perfect" for EVERYONE ?