Collier planning board scraps decade-old proposal to build bike path to Miami

Dozens cheered Friday afternoon as a plan to build a bike path from Naples to Miami was scrapped.

Collier Metropolitan Planning Organization board members voted unanimously to scrap the plan.

The path, called the River of Grass Greenway, had been part of the county’s long-range plans since 2006.

It would have run alongside U.S. 41 and cost up to $140 million to connect to existing trails in Miami.

But the board removed the path from its long-range plan and ended a study on it after:

• staunch opposition to the path from the Miccosukee Tribe;
• concerns of MPO leaders over the way a feasibility study of the path was completed;
• withdrawal of support from Collier County road engineers, who said the county has more pressing bike path needs.

Live coverage: Collier MPO withdraws support for planned bike path from Naples to Miami

“The cost-benefit analysis just didn’t work,” said Collier Commissioner Penny Taylor, chairwoman of the MPO. “I’m not against bike paths, but this project was a boondoggle that should never have gotten this far.”

The vote essentia

lly ends any efforts to build a bike path to the east coast for the foreseeable future.

Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee Tribe, celebrated after the vote.

“This was a recreational want,” Osceola said. “There are a lot of wonderful things the county can do in more urban areas to complete streets and promote a healthier lifestyle. They don’t need to go through the Everglades.”

The plan would have required widening certain parts of U.S. 41 to make room for the 12-to-14-foot-wide path and building 77 bridges over canals and rivers.

It would have increased the environmental impact of the highway, also known as the Tamiami Trail, said Jeanine Bennett, a lawyer for the Miccosukee Tribe.

“It just boggles my mind that in this day and age, after all the things we have learned about the Everglades and the ecosystem, that we’re still trying to put up further roadblocks to the cleaning up of that system,” Bennett said.

“This is a project that would come through their homes and bring, along with more people, pollution and trash,” she said.

Supporters said the greenway would have helped make U.S. 41 safer for many bikers who already travel along it.

The path also could have opened up large swaths of wildlife and nature to county residents and visitors who want to fish, hike, bike or watch birds on the cusp of the northern Everglades, as well as promote a healthier lifestyle for residents.

“Bicycling now exceeds golf as a reason people come to Florida,” said Marlene Sassaman, a supporter of the proposed greenway. “People use these paths for business deals, socialization and solitude.

"Continuing the path makes sense,” Sassaman said. "A safe, multi-use, non-vehicular, eco-friendly path will be a boon to the pride of all."

The Florida Department of Transportation has spent almost $600,000 on the development of the River of Grass Greenway. Almost $1.7 million has been set aside to help build it.

With the path now off the books, the state will work with the MPO to determine other priorities for that money, said Steve Walls, FDOT district work program administrator.

“We’ll work with the MPO to ensure these funds are reused within the county,” Walls said.