PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Much of the trail system in Florida used old rail lines, but a new trend is to partner with the power company and run along those corridors.


What You Need To Know


This week, a Spectrum Bay News 9 viewer says he's been zapped while riding near those towers.

David Smith is an avid cyclist who rides the Starkey Gap Trail in Pasco County.

“It's nice out here,” Smith said. “You see different things besides the concrete jungle as they call it. You're out in the wilderness.”

And for the most part, he's right. But if you look up, large frames and lines dominate the landscape.

Part of the trail runs along a Duke Energy power line corridor. For a while now, Smith has been trying to get the attention of Duke Energy and the state.

"I don't feel 100 percent safe,” he said. “I'm not sure what that can do to me."

Smith says there are a few spots along the trail where he feels a small "zap" coming from the power lines.

"They are mild to sometimes intense,” Smith said. “It depends on the weather and the atmosphere. Like today, on a windy day, the wires are going more back and forth. You've got a bigger chance of getting a zap out here."

The area is in the trail west of Fox Hollow Golf Club, north of Trinity Boulevard and crossing Robert Trent Jones Parkway.

Real Time Traffic Expert Chuck Henson called Duke Energy to see if they could send someone out to have a look. He is still waiting to hear back from them.

Pasco County says David's is the only formal complaint they've gotten about the issue, but he’s not the only one to notice it.

“A few trail users have mentioned these static shocks to county staff out on the trail,” said county spokesperson Tambrey Laine. “We are looking into the possibility of posting informational signs along the trail.”

Earlier this month someone asked the board for the Pinellas County South Gap Trail if there had been any complaints about this same type of static shock.

K.C. Lim, the project manager, stated they had received no complaints.

If this is something you've experienced on the trail, reach out to either Pasco or Pinellas County so your report can be part of the record.