Pinellas County unveils design for 1.5-mile McKay Creek Greenway Trail, schedules construction for 2027–28

Pinellas County officials presented the proposed design for the McKay Creek Greenway Trail at a virtual project information meeting, saying the 1.5-mile, multi-use path will link parks and recreational facilities and is scheduled for construction beginning in 2027.

"The McKay Creek Greenway Trail project will construct 1.5 miles of new paved multi use trail," said Helene Roberts, Pinellas County Transportation Engineering Manager for Capital Improvements, during the county’s presentation. "Most of the trail will be 10 feet wide and made of asphalt." Roberts said the trail will be built entirely on county-owned lands and generally follow McKay Creek, connecting Walsingham Park in the south to John S. Taylor Park at the north with links to Heritage Village, the Florida Botanical Gardens and Ridgecrest Park.

County staff framed the project as a connector for existing park facilities. "The purpose and need for the trail is to provide a connection between the multiple parks and recreational facilities within the greenway," Roberts said. The presentation maps a route that includes a mid-block crossing of Walsingham Road — "approximately 900 feet west of the existing park roadway entrance" — with a new crosswalk, pedestrian-actuated flashing beacons and signage.

The design includes a 500-foot boardwalk over a sensitive wetland area "with handrails and a concrete deck surface," Roberts said, which the county said will be more durable and provide a smoother surface for cyclists and rollerbladers than traditional wood decking. The county noted the wetland impacts are small and will be mitigated off-site within Pinellas County.

Roberts said the county sought to limit tree removal where possible but expects "approximately 86 total trees will be removed for the entire project." She added that tree impacts will be mitigated with new plantings within the parks. On wetlands, Roberts said: "These impacts of less than half an acre will be mitigated at an off-site location within the county."

Planned roadway interfaces include a widened high-visibility crosswalk over Ulmerton Road that connects to existing bike lanes and sidewalks, replacement of an old sidewalk bridge with a wider trail bridge over McKay Creek, and sidewalk connections to PSTA bus stops at the 121st/134th intersection. Where the trail enters the Florida Botanical Gardens, signage will instruct cyclists to dismount and walk their bikes.

During the question-and-answer segment, John Kente, a design consultant with Lochner, said the project will not create a direct connection to the Pinellas Trail. "We're not going to have a direct connection to the Pinellas Trail from this," Kente said, but he noted sidewalk connections on Walsingham and Ulmerton roads and a connection within Taylor Park. On operations, Spencer Curtis, deputy director of Parks and Conservation Resources, said staff is still determining how trail access will affect business hours: "We're currently working to determine how we're going to adjust the hours," he said. "Heritage Village’s hours will match the gardens and the rest of the property," but the final impact of the trail on hours remains to be determined.

Design work is ongoing. "Design is currently underway with a scheduled completion in 2027," Roberts said. "Construction is anticipated to begin in 2027, with completion about a year later in 2028." County staff encouraged residents to submit questions and feedback via the project web page at pinellas.gov; the recorded presentation will be posted there.

Next steps: the county will continue design work, incorporate community feedback, finalize mitigation plans for trees and wetlands, and confirm operations details for Heritage Village and the Florida Botanical Gardens before advancing to construction procurement.