OKEECHOBEE – The sale of an RV park near the Herbert Hoover Dike at Taylor Creek has meant those who hike or ride bicycles along the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail can no longer get on or off the trail at Taylor Creek.

At the March 25 meeting of the 16 County Coalition for the Responsible Management of Lake Okeechobee  St. Lucie and the Caloosahatchee Estuaries, and the Lake Worth Lagoon, Okeechobee County Commissioner David Hazellief said the previous owners of the park let those using the trail exit and enter through the park, but the new owners have blocked that access.

“When you get to Taylor Creek, there is no way to get off,” said Hazellief. “They have to get off at the pier (the Clif Betts Jr. Memorial Lakeside Recreation Area aka Lock 7) and get back on at Nubbin Slough.”

He said that means hikers and bicyclists must travel from the pier to Nubbin Slough along the busy highway.

He asked for coalition’s support for a walkway over Taylor Creek that would be open to pedestrians and bicyclists.

“I have ridden my bike there a number of times and it is really aggravating,” agreed Hendry County Commission Karson Turner.

Okeechobee City Administrator Gary Ritter, also an avid cyclist, said a lot of cyclists enjoy riding on the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, and the blockage at Taylor Creek is a problem.

“I would love to see that opened up because it does help our economy,” he said.

In a related matter, Palm Beach County Commissioner McKinlay said some portions of the trail need repaving. “When the corps came in and worked on the dike, they tore up the pavement and left it with a pretty bumpy shell rock,” she explained.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Official said the areas of the trail disturbed by the rehabilitation work on the dike will be repaved when the work is complete.