St. Marks Trail North Extension

Please scroll waaay down past all this text to view the photos. Uh, I left my "real" camera behind. So we're left with these toy camera snaps of a work crew doing cleanup for - well, I think it's best if I let Tallahassee – Leon County Planning Department's Steve Hodges describe it: "This Saturday, July 19th, at 9 a.m., a small group of FSU environmental service students, organized and led by Misty Penton, will gather at the SE corner of Gaines and Lake Bradford to pick up trash along a City-owned trail easement. This easement is intended to be the final trail connection between the City's Lake Elberta Park and the FSU stadium that will connect the St. Marks Trail to FSU. We're looking for additional volunteers to help clean up this corridor. Following the cleanup, City Parks and Rec staff will clear and grade the trail, and hopefully put down a hard surface. City staff are working with CSX to clean up a small storage facility along the easement, and other City staff are working to secure additional property that will connect the trail to the crossing at Gaines and Lake Bradford. This is an important link in the local greenway system, and its opening is closer than it has been in years. Come if you can, and help extend our urban trail system. Bring gloves, closed-toe shoes, bug spray, and drinking water. We'll be done by noon, barring bad weather. Ride your bicycle to this event if you can." And an afternote from Steve: "Approximately a dozen or more people showed up to help pick up trash along this trail corridor. In an hour and a half, we picked up many bags of aluminum cans, bottles, plastic, general trash, four or five bicycle frames, a large truck tire, and all kinds of assorted debris from an old homeless camp. Yay team! A BIG thanks to Misty Penton, who organized the FSU Environmental Service group, and Chuck Goodheart, who brought a City truck and trailer with bags, gloves, pails, trashpickers, and other tools. City Parks and Rec is going to contract out in a month or so the clearing of a portion of this corridor. The contractor will clear a minimum 20' area while trying to save as many large trees as possible, grub and shred, and grade the trail area flat. We hope to be able to put down a hard surface sometime this fall. We're also working to secure land or easements to legally connect the northernmost end to Gaines and Bradford where there is already a crossing. Some folks from the apartment complex on Stearns Street that is being renovated into live-work units have offered to adopt this trail corridor. We hope that people will start using it eventually, and we'll continue wrapping this section into the Lake Elberta trail project. Opening up new trails in the urban area is sometimes simply just a series of problems to be solved among many others, but it can be done with enough cooperation." The specific area cleaned up in these photos was a ~440m corridor. Couple shots of Lake Elberta Park are included as well. I'd like to get back for more shots when the trail construction begins. As to what we removed, can anyone say container deposit legislation?! With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" (very cool for sequences) or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me TallahasseeTrails on YouTube. "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/