TAMPA, Fla. — The City of Tampa is expanding the Riverwalk, adding six more miles to the city’s popular trail to what will be a 12.2-mile multi-use pathway.
“It will provide better access and connections,” said Brandie Miklus, Infrastructure and Mobility Program Coordinator for the City of Tampa.
That’s the main goal in the Tampa Riverwalk extension or the West River BUILD Grant Project.
“This is the City of Tampa’s West River district project,” said Miklus.
The city received a $24 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand the trail to more neighborhoods and fill in the gaps on the west side of the river.
“It has access for the West Tampa community and neighborhoods to better access not only the river but downtown and also take the free street car into Ybor,” said Miklus.
The additional trail will connect to more neighborhoods including West Tampa, Tampa Heights, Bayshore Boulevard, Hyde Park, Riverside Heights, North Franklin Street, and Bowman Heights.
“It’ll go from near the Platt Street bridge, it’ll have some over water segments. We’ll actually have some living shorelines as well,” said Miklus.
This is part of the city’s Vision Zero Plan, improving safety in areas with high pedestrian and vehicle crashes.
There will also be better sidewalks, covered bike lanes, and enhanced crossing features at major roadways to expand safer connections in neighborhoods that make up the West River area.
“It’s going to transform this side of the river,” said Miklus.
Several schools are on the path so this project will allow kids to walk to school more safely.
It will provide better access to employment centers and hospitals along the extension as well.
“It’s not really the existing Riverwalk everyone is familiar with. This one is more about connecting people to places, connecting people to neighborhoods,” said Miklus.
Project leaders say this extension is likely just the beginning of what’s to come.
“We see a very big need to connect downtown to the airport. I think via transit specifically. So even though that is not underway, having this network of better ways to get around, walking biking scooting, to connect to future transit is going to be transformational,” said Miklus.
