Tampa breaks ground on 22-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail project

Tampa has broken ground on a 22-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail.

Construction began on May 13 on the first two segments of the trail, which is called the Green ARTery. It will connect neighborhoods throughout central Tampa and is the latest significant investment from the city into increasing its bike network.

Tampa’s Green Spine — an east-west urban bike track that runs through the downtown core into East Tampa — has had a series of extensions since opening in 2016. Construction on the final expansion is expected to be complete in mid-2026.

The Green ARTery project will continue to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety, which were targeted goals within Mayor Jane Castor’s MOVES (mobility, opportunity, vision, equity and safety) plan.

City of Tampa

The first two segments, in the Old Seminole Heights and Lowry Park Central neighborhoods, cost a combined $1.7 million. More than half of the funding was provided by Florida Department of Transportation grants, and the remainder was pulled from multimodal impact fees.

The Old Seminole Heights segment is 1.4 miles long and includes Hamilton Heath Drive, E. Park Circle and Park Drive from N. Nebraska Avenue to 22nd Street Park. The Lowry Park Central segment is 1.1 miles long and includes W. Kirby Street, N. River Shore Drive and N. Florida Avenue between North Boulevard and E. Bird Street.

The segments are surrounded by a dozen park facilities. The projects include measures to slow traffic near the Green ARTery, along with nearly 4,000 feet of new and widened sidewalks, fresh paving, lower speed limits, improved roadway markings, signage and solar-powered flashing crosswalk beacons.

Construction on the first two segments will be complete by mid-August. The entire 22-mile loop will be finished in five years.

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