Mitch Traphagen photos.
For those of us living in the relative peace and tranquillity of South Hillsborough, it may be easy to forget that we also live in a growing metropolitan area of nearly three million people, with the downtowns of Tampa and St. Petersburg serving as the anchors.
In downtown Tampa, a new milestone was reached in a nearly 40-year effort — the major portions of the Tampa Riverwalk, connecting diverse areas of downtown, from MacDill Park to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The 1.8-mile walk along the eastern side of the Hillsborough River, crossing peacefully underneath busy Kennedy Boulevard, is also planned to include food and beverage vendors. Along the way are numerous benches and various expanses shaded with canvas.
It is a major achievement in plans to make the city more enjoyable and certainly more walkable.
One note, which also regards a growing city: If you go from South Hillsborough, prepare for construction delays on U.S. 41 near the Crosstown Expressway or on the Causeway leading toward 22nd Street and Ybor City. Signs are posted saying the best option to downtown from the south is to take I-75 to the Crosstown, exiting at Kennedy Boulevard.
