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TPO endorses Plant City Sun Trail connection study to broaden east-west trail links
Summary
The TPO approved the Plant City Sun Trail Connection Study, which evaluated six potential East-West and North-South alignments and recommended West Option 1 (north of I-4), West Option 2 (US 92), and the East option as priorities for further coordination and funding steps.
The Hillsborough County TPO on Tuesday approved the Plant City Sun Trail Connection Study, a planning report that analyzed six alignments to connect downtown Plant City to the statewide Sun Trail (Florida Greenways and Trails) network.
Wyatt Bowers, TPO staff, said the study refined a larger set of alternatives into six alignments and evaluated them for buildability, connections to schools and parks, environmental impacts and public support. "West option 1 and West option 2 were both scored very similarly," Bowers said. "The East option did have the highest public support in the survey that we did."
The study names three priority approaches: West Option 1 (a route north of I-4 using the Canal Connector trail and separated shared-use path potential), West Option 2 (an alignment along U.S. 92 with retrofit opportunities as that roadway widens), and an East Option (the shortest county segment to the Polk County line where Lakeland has an identified connection into downtown). Bowers provided a rough order-of-magnitude cost estimate using FDOT October cost factors, noting a range of roughly $1 million to $3 million per mile depending on context, and estimated the East option could be advanced for about $4 million.
The Citizens Advisory Committee recommended approval (10-1) and the Technical Advisory Committee flagged environmental and right-of-way constraints on some segments. Committee members and Plant City officials urged keeping several alignments in play so the city can sequence segments as opportunities arise; Mayor Kilton told the board Plant City preferred leaving options open and indicated his preference for West Option 1 combined with the East option.
The TPO—s action was a vote to approve the study for use in planning and project prioritization; the item does not itself commit funding. Bowers said next steps include adding priority segments to the TPO—s project lists and seeking Sun Trail and FDOT partnerships, as well as local coordination with Plant City and Polk County for cross-jurisdictional connections.
Board members discussed implementation sequencing and whether interim sidewalk-level improvements could be used where full Sun Trail criteria are not immediately achievable. FDOT staff present noted drainage and permitting issues on some corridors and suggested flexible approaches where a wide sidewalk might be the practical near-term solution.
