Paving of the eastern end of the Gainesville-Hawthorne Rail Trail is continuing. The new route through Paynes Prairie State Preserve will be paved before the end of the year.
At press time, construction continues on the Trail from the original Hawthorne trailhead to Grove Park. Paving of this three mile corridor should be completed by June.
Following that, construction on the Gainesville end of the Trail will begin, following a new route that will by-pass the edge of the Prairie. The trail will be rerouted for two miles along a power line easement through the middle of the park and a spur trail will lead to the overlook that faces Alachua Lake.
Paving will begin at Boulware Springs and continue east until they run out of money. It is anticipated there will be a two to four mile unpaved gap on the Trail, from the Rochelle area to Grove Park.
The first phase of paving was completed last summer with the construction of a new parking lot and Trailhead in downtown Hawthorne and paving up to the original Trailhead.
If you would like more information about the Trail routes, please talk to Chandler Otis at 377-1728.
The saga of the Hogtown Greenway continues, as the site plan for Phase One of the project was approved by the city's Development Review Board (DRB). The DRB is a citizen's advisory board that reviews local development.
The DRB approved the plan with recommendations, including widening sidewalks on NW 8th Ave and narrowing NW 8th Ave to two lanes for safer crossing. [Reacting to this, the Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) voted 6-5 to recommend removal of the Hogtown Greenway from the list of currently funded priorities if this project reduces the number of lanes on NW 8th Ave from four lanes to two lanes. Ed.]
The DRB met several times and listened to more than 18 hours of testimony by planners, engineers, and other experts, followed by 5 hours of citizen comment. During the testimony phase, lawyers on both sides of the Greenway issue cross-examined the experts.
Several GCC members spoke in favor of the Greenway during the citizen comment, including President Linda McMahon, Margaret Raynal, Tim Strauser, and former member Morgan Wallace.
Angry neighbors and others opposed to the Greenway formed a group, Greenspace Preservation Association (GPA), and hired attorney Sam Mutch to represent them. Greenway supporter David Coffee is representing the Alachua Greenway Alliance, the Greenway support group.
The opponents (GPA) will file suit for a court injunction on the Greenway and may attempt to put a Greenway referendum on the November ballot.
Phase One of the Greenway will run through the Loblolly area (the swamp east of Westwood School) from NW 16th Ave to the Loblolly School on NW 34th Street. The opponents cited environmental concerns about an asphalt trail and neighborhood intrusion as reasons for their opposition.
Please tell your friends about the Greenway. The opponents are organizing and if there is no community support, the Greenway project may die.
The Hogtown Greenway, when completed, will be a seven mile hiking and biking trail that will run along the Hogtown Creek, from NW 39th Ave to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.
For more information on the Greenway, please call Chandler Otis at 377-1728.