Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/285258
Before I die, I hope to see a bicyclist travel from Sarasota's bayfront to the Venice train depot without even once riding in automobile traffic. A decade ago, the county purchased 12.5 miles of railroad right of way from Clark Road to Center Road in Venice. It was transformed into the Legacy Trail for bikers and hikers. No cars; no noise; no exhaust; no peril. The railroad corridor north from Clark Road is now under scrutiny as a possible extension of the Legacy Trail to Payne Park near down- town Sarasota. But from there, where might it go? The answer literally was installed last week, when a crane plopped a bridge across an arm of Hudson Bayou. Sarasota's first city plan — like all its sub- sequent plans — was dominated by the automobile and drainage. Florida is a flat land, and drainage is an important tool to make Florida habitable even when the rains are tor- rential. Watercourses like Hudson Bayou are A crane positions a one-piece bridge over a tributary on the north side of Hudson Bayou in Sarasota. Photo courtesy City of Sarasota A NEW CITY BRIDGE WILL OPEN UP A NEW ROUTE TO THE BAY FOR ALL SORTS OF USERS MISSING A LINK NO MORE By Stan Zimmerman City Editor