Mayor Vows to Support Green Spaces

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn threw his support behind The Green Artery at its Wednesday night meeting. He appeared at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel to pledge his commitment to develop Central Tampa's green spaces.

“I want you to do this,” Buckhorn told the assembled green space advocates. “We're going to find a way. We will be a part of this.”

is a grassroots organization working to identify parks and waterways within Central Tampa neighborhoods, and connect them with bike paths and hiking trails. The group says that such a network will improve the quality of life in Tampa and provide economic benefits as well.

“We believe this will help with economic development,” said Terry Cullen, the group's facilitator. Cullen said that he often brings out-of-town guests to ride bicycles along the Pinellas Trail, from Dunedin to Tarpon Springs.

“When I ride my bike, I stop at the little barbecue joints,” said Cullen. “You see all these beautiful neighborhoods.” He added, “If you drove your car, you would never ever stop at any of those destinations.”

Cullen said that The Green Artery hopes to have similar success.

“Imagine what we could do if we could have the same experience in Central Tampa,” he said.

The Green Artery holds “roving" monthly meetings. Each meeting is hosted by a different neighborhood group, with Wednesday's meeting being put on by the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

Shaun Drinkard of the Tampa Downtown Partnership said that the downtown area, besides being the city center, is also a neighborhood like any other.

“We have five thousand residents downtown,” said Drinkard. “They're looking for a sense of community. They're looking for things to do downtown.”

Drinkard said that the addition of bike lanes and bike paths downtown together with the development of green spaces contributed to those goals.

Myron Griffin, co-chair of The Green Artery, said that now was the time to win the support of city government.

“We're trying to make Central Tampa a greener place,” said Griffin, adding that official backing is crucial to the success of the project.

The group appeared to have won at least some of that support. In addition to the mayor's vote of confidence, City Council members Yvonne Capin and Lisa Montelione were in attendance at the Wednesday meeting.

Mayor Buckhorn offered his support to the project, with the caveat that budget concerns affect every decision.

“This, I think, could be transformative,” said Buckhorn, adding, “this is without knowing what it's going to cost me.”

Still, the mayor's enthusiasm was unequivocal.

“This is what connects us,” he said. “Let's get it done.”