In a forested area near Northwest 16th Avenue and Northwest Eighth Avenue, an old mountain bike trail has been revitalized in the form of a bridge spanning a small creek.
Swift Cycle, a local bike shop in downtown Gainesville, drew attention to the new bridge through a picture on the store’s Instagram account earlier this month.
The bridge wasn’t put together under a new city ordinance or as a public works project, said Swift Cycle co-owner Tim Hayes. He attributed the improvements to a community of Gainesville bicyclists who took the initiative to upgrade the area.
Brian Berry, a 31-year-old Swift Cycle employee, said the trail that the bridge lies along is unofficial and neighbors a park popular for dog walking and recreational bike riding.
The new bridge lies over Hogtown Creek, he said, replacing a 7-year-old bridge in the same spot that was in dire need of a replacement.
James Scheppegrell, a 22-year-old UF electrical engineering senior, said he remembers the dangers of the old bridge.
“It was kind of sketchy,” he said. “They screwed 2-by-4s together for the outside of the bridge and just laid wooden planks on top.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 3/26/2014 under the headline "Bike bridge replaces ‘sketchy’ planks at Hogtown Creek trail"]
