FORT SMITH - The Walton Family Foundation is giving Fort Smith $1 million to help it build a 2-mile trail along the Arkansas River in the downtown area, Mayor Sandy Sanders said Wednesday.
The noon announcement drew a standing ovation from the small crowd in the west pavilion at the Harry E. Kelley River Park.
Central Business Improvement District Chairman Richard Griffin said in remarks at the announcement that foundation officials had approached the city about wanting to “be involved south of the mountain” and showing its support for the Fort Smith area.
At the prompting of theFort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce for possible projects to spur riverfront development, Griffin said, the improvement district board developed a riverfront trail, among other plans.
Those plans came in handy when the foundation officials asked if the board had a worthy project that needed funding, he said.
“This is a great milestone for the redevelopment of our riverfront,” Griffin said. “It’s a giant step in bringing our downtown riverfront to its highest and best use. And for that, we thank you.”
The River West Trail is on the city’s Trails and Greenways Master Plan and will connect the River Park withthe existing Rice Carden Levee Trail located north of North P Street, Sanders said. When completed, there will be a continuous trail of 5 miles between the Fort Smith National Historic Site and the north bend in the Arkansas River.
He said the city will add $1 million in trails funding to complement the foundation grant.
Design and planning of the trail will begin next spring, and construction of the trail is expected to be completed in mid-2015, Sanders said.
Easements for the new trail have been provided by the Westphal and Griffin families and the U.S.Marshals Museum, Sanders said. The Bennie Westphal family donated the land for the museum.
“This investment will support an important section in the city’s overall plan to expand the trail system,” foundation spokesman Daphne Moore said in an email Wednesday. “Recreational amenities contribute to the well-being of a community and its residents.”
The city’s share of the riverfront trail cost will come from a one-eighth percent sales tax voters approved last year for parks and recreation improvements, Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Lorie Robinson said.
She said she believed the gift was a way for the foundation to acknowledge Fort Smith’s vision and to reward the citizens for investing in civic improvements.
“To receive a gift of this magnitude from the Walton Foundation, I feel this is a compliment to the citizens of Fort Smith,” she said.
Robinson also complimented the Central Business Improvement District and other business partners for supporting the Parks and Recreation Commission on the riverfront trail project.
Parks Department Director Mike Alsup said the River West Trial will be paved with concrete and will be wider than the 10-foot width for other trails in the city’s trails master plan because of its anticipated use. He said the trail will have a lot of traffic from the U.S. Marshals Museum and from the other development he believes the museum will stimulate along the river.
The stretch of trail also will have benches, lighting, landscaping and, possibly, some overlook spots.
“The Arkansas River is our biggest natural resource and we really don’t use it to the full extent yet,” he said. “I feel it will become one of our main destinations.”
The River West Trail is a small segment in the 87.6 miles of trails and bike paths envisioned in the Trails and Greenways Master Plan that was adopted in 2004 by the Fort Smith Board of Directors and the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 10/31/2013