Razorback Greenway and other NWA Trail Systems

[butttrumpet]

It looks like the trails system will add 7.54 miles in 2009 with a nice boost in funding:

http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/73102/

[zman9810]

It looks like the trails system will add 7.54 miles in 2009 with a nice boost in funding:

http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/73102/

Here's a list of the specific trail improvements.

[Mith242]

Cool thanks for the update guys. I've been wondering what they were going to be doing this year for the Trail System. I really like the idea of connecting Gulley Park to the trail system. Last time I checked it wasn't layed out but Wilson Park is very close to the Scull Creek/Frisco trail. Not sure if there's room to make an actual link to Wilson Park but it would be nice. I'm not sure I get the extending the Lake Fayetteville Trail to the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. Last time I checked I thought that trail basically went right by it. Although the Lake Fayetteville Trail is more of a nature trail. It's not paved or anything.

[Mith242]

I discovered a hazard I hadn't really considered. Although it's warmed up quite a bit today it's been cold enough that some of the tunnels that tend to have water in them were icy.

[zman9810]

I didn't see any ice but when I walked the Mud Creek trail today it was very busy. I walked the western section between Steele and College and counted 27 people either meeting me or passing me in that short time. Good to see people using the trails and supporting what has been done.

One thing I noticed was a child's bicycle sitting abandoned along a culvert. When I passed it the first time I figured they had stepped off the trail for a moment but when I came back it was still there and not locked up. It was a nice looking bicycle and I know some kid is going to miss it if it is stolen but I was hesitant to call the police about it. What would anyone else do in that situation? Who handles security on the trails?

[Mith242]

I didn't see any ice but when I walked the Mud Creek trail today it was very busy. I walked the western section between Steele and College and counted 27 people either meeting me or passing me in that short time. Good to see people using the trails and supporting what has been done.

One thing I noticed was a child's bicycle sitting abandoned along a culvert. When I passed it the first time I figured they had stepped off the trail for a moment but when I came back it was still there and not locked up. It was a nice looking bicycle and I know some kid is going to miss it if it is stolen but I was hesitant to call the police about it. What would anyone else do in that situation? Who handles security on the trails?

Yeah the ice I saw was on the Scull Creek Trail. I'm guessing Fayetteville Police handle things on the trail system. I've occasionally seen them ride their motorcycles slowly along the trail checking things out. Not sure if they do it on a regular basis or if they were looking for something in particular. But I've seen them on the trail a couple of times.

[Mith242]

I looked around a bit because I was curious how many miles of trail we have in Fayetteville. The eventual goal that's been set right now is to have 129 miles. Although it will take a while to get all of that accomplished. From what I can tell we have a little under 30 miles. But that does include some of the 'nature' trails that aren't paved at Lake Fayetteville and Mt Sequoyah Woods. Also some of that is also trails at parks that aren't connected to the trail system. But Fayetteville's website seems to be lacking some parks. I didn't see Gulley Park listed at all. Even though apparently they will be working on connecting Gulley Park to the trail system. Not sure if any other parks were left out of their list. But I tend to stick to the larger parks like Wilson and Gulley Park and don't know the others quite so well. Looks like Fayetteville will be adding around 6 miles of trails in 2009. Sometime I'll try to figure out just how much Fayetteville has in paved trails not including the nature trails.

[jllive]

It's incredible to see how popular the bike trails are in Fayetteville. Even on cold blustery days the trails are heavily populated with older and younger people alike. It's also really neat to see all the kids running and biking on the trails. It lets you know that these kids now have extra room to play and be active instead of sitting indoors and watching tv. It makes me wonder how popular bike trails are or would be in Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. Would they be any less popular in the rest of the NWA corridor. I became curious with the recent reports of obesity levels in the U.S. at 30%, how incredibly beneficial it would be for all of NWA residents to have bike trails just outside their doors or relatively close at least.

[Mith242]

It's incredible to see how popular the bike trails are in Fayetteville. Even on cold blustery days the trails are heavily populated with older and younger people alike. It's also really neat to see all the kids running and biking on the trails. It lets you know that these kids now have extra room to play and be active instead of sitting indoors and watching tv. It makes me wonder how popular bike trails are or would be in Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. Would they be any less popular in the rest of the NWA corridor. I became curious with the recent reports of obesity levels in the U.S. at 30%, how incredibly beneficial it would be for all of NWA residents to have bike trails just outside their doors or relatively close at least.

I think Rogers and Bentonville have been getting on board with their own trails. There's been talk of some regional trails but Springdale seems to be holding things up. So for now Fayetteville won't be connected to any Benton County cities anytime soon. I was out driving around earlier and I noticed it looked like they were doing work on the Scull Creek Trail where it crosses Sycamore St. Maybe they'll put in a red crossing area, maybe even a raised one there. They might also finally get the motion detector working there.

[OnDickson]

I looked around a bit because I was curious how many miles of trail we have in Fayetteville. The eventual goal that's been set right now is to have 129 miles. Although it will take a while to get all of that accomplished. From what I can tell we have a little under 30 miles. But that does include some of the 'nature' trails that aren't paved at Lake Fayetteville and Mt Sequoyah Woods. Also some of that is also trails at parks that aren't connected to the trail system. But Fayetteville's website seems to be lacking some parks. I didn't see Gulley Park listed at all. Even though apparently they will be working on connecting Gulley Park to the trail system. Not sure if any other parks were left out of their list. But I tend to stick to the larger parks like Wilson and Gulley Park and don't know the others quite so well. Looks like Fayetteville will be adding around 6 miles of trails in 2009. Sometime I'll try to figure out just how much Fayetteville has in paved trails not including the nature trails.

According to the Parks Department, we currently have 32.9 miles of trails in Fayetteville (as of end of 2008). Not sure if that is the paved total or if that includes all trails, but I'll check. The overall goal for the trails system is still the same--to eventually connect every neighborhood, school, park and shopping area by a trail of some type. But the Fayetteville Alternative Transportation and Trails (FATT) plan will be revised and updated during 2009 to eliminate some proposed trails that may overlap or may be unnecessary, so that 129 mile figure may be adjusted downward some.

[Mith242]

According to the Parks Department, we currently have 32.9 miles of trails in Fayetteville (as of end of 2008). Not sure if that is the paved total or if that includes all trails, but I'll check. The overall goal for the trails system is still the same--to eventually connect every neighborhood, school, park and shopping area by a trail of some type. But the Fayetteville Alternative Transportation and Trails (FATT) plan will be revised and updated during 2009 to eliminate some proposed trails that may overlap or may be unnecessary, so that 129 mile figure may be adjusted downward some.

Thanks for the update. I got my figures just going off what trails were listed on their website. But as I said earlier I think some trails were missing, like the one at Gulley Park. Even if it's rounded down from 129 miles, it's still going to take quite a while to get all of that accomplished. Looks like about 6 miles of trail is planned for 2009. Unless voters decide to pay to get more done more quickly like the Scull Creek Trail it's going to take quite a few years and who knows how things will change between now and then. But it's still a nice start and I look forward to more being added in the near future.

[akahogfan]

When all of these plans were created, was there a final date that all of the trails were to be completed by?

[Mith242]

When all of these plans were created, was there a final date that all of the trails were to be completed by?

I never heard one but that doesn't mean there isn't one out there somewhere.

[jllive]

I think Rogers and Bentonville have been getting on board with their own trails. There's been talk of some regional trails but Springdale seems to be holding things up. So for now Fayetteville won't be connected to any Benton County cities anytime soon. I was out driving around earlier and I noticed it looked like they were doing work on the Scull Creek Trail where it crosses Sycamore St. Maybe they'll put in a red crossing area, maybe even a raised one there. They might also finally get the motion detector working there.

I noticed that. It was long overdue because people are constantly fighting traffic to get across Sycamore. I will never understand why people don't see the need to stop when they see a pedestrian/cyclist on a crosswalk.

[Snaple4]

The not stopping thing annoys me very badly. But then again I am the type that steps out the first chance I get and I make the people stop. I also jog down the middle of a lane when there is no or a bad sidewalk (very common in Fayetteville especially around the Mountain.) They had the road tore up for the new cross walk. Half of the street was closed for that.

[Mith242]

Looks like they're putting down red concrete for the crossing at Sycamore. I thought at first driving by it they might be putting a speed table there as well. But I used that section of trail and it looks level. It also looks like they're getting ready to start putting out lampposts sometime in the near future between Poplar and North St.

[Mith242]

Lately I've mainly stuck to the Scull Creek Trail. It's closest to where I live. But recently I've checked out the Mudd Creek Trail and Frisco Trail after a year or so's absence. I'd forgotten about some aspects of the Mudd Creek Trail. The trail seems a bit narrow behind the P&G offices. Also the trail seems to be in bad shape in some areas. Bot sure if it's tree roots or just not laid out properly. Looks like they're finally going to have an alternative to that oddly shaped narrow wooden bridge. They have one of the newer bridges in that area and now have to put down some asphalt to lead to the newer bridge. I do like how they have benches on the other trails. I'm assuming they'll eventually put some in on the Scull Creek Trail eventually. I also like how they have a picnic table up on the east end of the Mudd Creek Trail. Might be nice if they eventually put in a few picnic tables on some of the other trails. Looked like most of the Sycamore St crossing is finished now. It's not a speed table but it is raised up a bit over the street. Although I still couldn't tell that there was any motion detector working on it yet. I hope they'll eventually work on the North St Crossing. The only time I'll use that part of the trail is on the weekends when I can get out early enough before traffic becomes bad. That area also seems like it would be a good area to put in a small parking area. There's empty land on the south side of North St near the trail. The only other parking area I know that seems to be for the trail is the small parking area near Gordon Long Park. Otherwise you have to use other business or apartment parking where you might have to worry about getting towed. I live nearby so I don't have to worry about it, but it would be good to allow access to others who might not live nearby. I've also noticed that there is lighting in the tunnel under Gregg St but I've never seen it on. Maybe it only lights up at night. It's not a big tunnel but lighting during the daytime would be nice.

[Mith242]

I noticed there being work done around two small buildings along the Scull Creek trail. One on Poplar and one on North. Not exactly sure what these buildings are. Maybe some sort of old monitoring sites for Scull Creek. While I haven't seen anything done to the buildings themselves they seem to have torn down the fences around them and I got the impression they might be tearing the buildings down too at some point. I think it would be good spots to put in some small parking lots for people to access the trail.

[butttrumpet]

I rode the Scull Creek trail the other day and I am really kind of shocked at all the tree damage. I don't know why it surprised me. Maybe because in my neighborhood, things are slowly getting back to normal, or because all the downed limbs have been neatly stacked at the curb. There's alot of work to be done along Scull Creek still.

I hope we don't have another ice storm like this one ever.

[Snaple4]

A friend and I went to jog the natural trails on the backside of Mt Sequoia a few days after the storm. Well, we ended up running through the woods and atop of fallen trees more so than trail running. I still have scabs on my legs from that. Would do it again too.

The trail that crosses Sycamore is close to being done. The red, slightly raised, crosswalk is done and they have the overhanging crosswalk lights (not working yet?). I think they are just doing some touch up work to the sidewalks. I am so happy we have the trail and park system.

[Mith242]

A friend and I went to jog the natural trails on the backside of Mt Sequoia a few days after the storm. Well, we ended up running through the woods and atop of fallen trees more so than trail running. I still have scabs on my legs from that. Would do it again too.

The trail that crosses Sycamore is close to being done. The red, slightly raised, crosswalk is done and they have the overhanging crosswalk lights (not working yet?). I think they are just doing some touch up work to the sidewalks. I am so happy we have the trail and park system.

Yeah as far as the Sycamore crossing goes, I think they mainly seem to be working on how the sidewalk on the street connects to the Scull Creek Trail. But I'm pretty sure the overhead lights don't work yet. I'm guessing maybe they're waiting till everything's wired and the lampposts are installed along the trail. There are still large sections of the Scull Creek Trail that are lacking in lights and benches and such. But in some areas you can see there's work been done on one of the sides of the trail where apparently wiring has been put down and eventually lampposts will be installed. Not sure what type of timetable any of this has. I've also wondered if they plan to finish all these things on the Scull Creek Trail before they start working and expanding other sections of trails that have been scheduled for 2009.

[hogwash]

Bentonville does have a trail system that is growing thanks to many parties involved. The city's trail plan calls for about 55 mile of trail by 2025. As of 2005, Bentonville had over 11 miles. I am sure it is more now.

[Mith242]

Bentonville does have a trail system that is growing thanks to many parties involved. The city's trail plan calls for about 55 mile of trail by 2025. As of 2005, Bentonville had over 11 miles. I am sure it is more now.

Yeah I've heard they've been working on a trail system up there. Seems like Rogers may have a bit of one as well. Too bad Springdale is in the way, or else we could try to join them all together into one big trail system. There's been a little talk about it but so far Springdale hasn't gotten on board yet.

[Senator]

Yeah I've heard they've been working on a trail system up there. Seems like Rogers may have a bit of one as well. Too bad Springdale is in the way, or else we could try to join them all together into one big trail system. There's been a little talk about it but so far Springdale hasn't gotten on board yet.

Do you have any more specifics (routes, total mileage, connections, etc.) on this plan? It sounds like a great idea, though I wouldn't be in good enough shape to do it!

[Mith242]

Do you have any more specifics (routes, total mileage, connections, etc.) on this plan? It sounds like a great idea, though I wouldn't be in good enough shape to do it!

As far as an overall plan, I think the talk was mainly just preliminary. People wanted to 'feel out' the NWA cities involved to gauge interest. Fayetteville, Bentonville and Rogers were interested but Springdale wasn't. Without Springdale on board all the talk died. I suppose Bentonville and Rogers could connect their trails systems. But I really haven't heard many details on their systems. I've mainly focused on Fayetteville's because that's where I live. But if we could manage to one day connect all the NWA cities trail systems together that would be great.