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Bay Area Development - possible remix

Page history last edited by kms 13 years, 6 months ago

15 Sep 2010

This is a portion of an essay Bay Area Development: Recreation vs. Industrialization or “I Need My Trail!” written June 2010 for Dr. Tom Hallock’s Nature Writing course.  The ‘industrialization’ and Tampa portions have been removed. A few slight changes have been made.  I am considering a remix taking ideas from Jaime’s hedge fund writing which inspired me to think about the mortgage securitization fall out, Elizabeth’s DRCA article remarking on the real estate ‘bubble’, and someone’s wiki mention of the ‘have and have nots’.  Any ideas?  Or does my ‘team’ want to add any remix input?

 

Bay Area Development: Recreation vs. Commercialization (in need of a better word) or “I Need My Trail!”

 

     It’s Friday morning and I head west on the Pinellas Trail for my morning walk.  The trail is part of the Rails-to-Trails project, a system of former commercially used rail lines that have been converted into recreational trails for bicyclists, skaters, equestrians and walkers.1 This portion of the trail crosses the coastal estuaries of Joe’s Creek, Cross Bayou, and Long Bayou, where Long Bayou flows out to the St. Petersburg intercoastal waterway and into the Gulf of Mexico.       

      

     Most mornings I see fisherman casting rods in the water from their small motorized rowboats.  This day is no different.  The Seaworthy Boat Club is on the left.  One doesn’t even have to own a boat to enjoy this area’s waterfront activity.  A $750 membership and $199 monthly fee provide unlimited access to a variety of boats with names like Slow Ride and Go Fish.

 

     A little further up the trail is Sea Horse Mobile Home Park, one of the area’s few remaining waterfront mobile home parks.  By the size of the boats moored at the individual docks, it is obvious the residents spend less on housing than they do on their water toys.  On the right I approach a waterfront KOA campground that offers trail users water and restroom facilities.

 

     In this city where I grew up, there is a different scene on the bay front downtown where expensive hi-rise condominiums line Beach Drive along the water, providing housing for those living a more affluent lifestyle.  The city of St. Petersburg grew from tourism and the needs and desires of its wealthy winter residents.  It remains much the same today.  Commercial activity is limited to necessary white collar professions (e.g., medical, dental, legal and real estate offices) and upscale restaurants and retail shops.  At the once famous Pier, locals and visitors can enjoy dinner and a cocktail, or rent paddle boats, bicycles, and jet skis.

~ ~ ~

 

     It’s now Saturday morning.  Once again, I traverse the Pinellas Trail, this time on my bike.  Across the bay, I glance at Otter Key Condominiums and contemplate how residents must certainly consider this scenic view during the purchase process.  The short-lived recent real estate boom brought a new condo-hotel development to the waterfront near BayPinesVeteransHospital

The area is remarkably more congested than during my youth.  The citrus groves and dairy farms have metamorphosed into subdivisions and condominiums.  A few parks are scattered in between.  I am grateful for the trail.  On today’s journey I have a dolphin sighting – always a welcome treat!

                         

1 The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nonprofit organization, based in Washington, D.C., that began 23 years ago to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines.  It consists of 19,000 miles of rail-trails throughout the U.S., along with another potential 9,000 miles waiting to be built.  Its membership totals more than 150,000 members and supporters.  “railstotrails.org”. Retrieved June 12, 2010. 

 

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