While Gainesville is used to the hectic swarm of students and residents, the City of Hawthorne is more acquainted with the sound of nature and the sight of familiar faces.
Downtown Hawthorne is roughly 1 square mile and houses about 14,000 residents, said Ellen Vause, Hawthorne’s city manager.
Hawthorne enjoys its small town charm, but Vause said the city is eager for tourists to view its nature trails and parks, as well as Main Street.
In an attempt to revitalize the downtown area and spur economic development, the city plans to extend its 16-mile bicycle trail. Hawthorne’s previous city planner asked the Florida Department of Transportation for a renovation grant three years ago, and the city recently announced the project is now underway.
“We need the people,” Vause said. “We need the visitors.”
The .7-mile project will extend the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, one of the top 10 trails in Florida, from just west of U.S. 301 along Southeast 71st Avenue and Southeast 221st Street to the new trail end at State Road 20.
The project will start in summer 2016 and cost about $420,000, said Rebecca White, a spokeswoman for the project. It will take about six to eight months to complete.
The FDOT and the Hawthorne City Commission held an open house informational meeting Tuesday in the Hawthorne City Hall Auditorium to discuss the trail’s extension.
The proposed project will include repaving, widening of road lanes and pavement marking.
Two 13-foot bike lanes will be added to Southeast 71st Avenue, which will be widened by 8 feet.
The bike route enhancements will make use of shared lanes that indicate where a cyclist has the right to ride. Under Florida law, bicycles have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles, said Leigh Ann Bennett, the FDOT’s project manager.
“Bicycle riders, if they chose to, could take the whole lane,” she said.
These bike lanes will be marked with a “sharrow” symbol, which is the designated symbol for shared lanes.
Future plans for Hawthorne include extending the trail along State Road 20 into Palatka and renovating the downtown area with a community center, restaurants and boutiques.
John Dee, the design project manager, said there will be lane closures, but no road closures.
“No detours or anything, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/8/2014]
