Regional Bike, Pedestrian Master Plan Coming To 25 Area Cities And Towns

City councils in 25 Northwest Arkansas towns and cities are being asked to approve individualized trail plans and endorse the recently completed regional Northwest Arkansas Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan.

"This is local decision-making with a common vision," John McLarty, of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission told the West Fork City Council on Tuesday. "We want you to start the process, to make this plan your own."

The regional plan will help cities develop their trail plans, secure money to pay for trails and ultimately connect to the Razorback Regional Greenway where possible. Each city can personalize its plan.

West Fork's plan, for example, includes sidewalks, shared roadways and bike lanes as well as design guidelines and education programs.

West Fork officials are looking at various options to connect with Greenland and Fayetteville to the north. U.S. 71, with its wide shoulders, is popular with cyclists. They're also looking at easements along the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad tracks, which follow the West Fork of the White River through the middle of town, and at land along an easement of the city's new sewer line connection with Fayetteville.

Officials learned this week the city is eligible for a $32,950 grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism to add a quarter-mile of trail and related amenities at Riverside Park.

Mayor Charlie Rossetti said he'd like to include the many state and county roads that loop from the city out into the county and back, including Mineral Springs Road to Wallin Mountain Road east of U.S. 71, Campbell Loop between Greenland and West Fork and a loop formed by Arkansas 170 and 265, toward Devil's Den.

If the cities of Greenland and West Fork connect to the 36-mile greenway, traffic will flow both ways. Residents would be able to take advantage of more developed trail systems in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, Lowell and Johnson. Residents of those larger cities would have access to rural rides and, in time, recreational and historical areas such as Devil's Den, Lake Wilson, Winslow and Mount Gaylor.

"They are one of the first to get it before their city council," McLarty said of West Fork. "It's pretty fresh."

Alta/Greenways Planning and Design, a consulting firm, and regional planning staff members included everything from designated bike lanes along roads to paths, sidewalks and multiuse trails, education and public outreach, crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes with protective barriers in the proposal. They'll be available through next year to help cities personalize plans.

A $300,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation to regional planning paid for the work. More than 800 residents participated during 31 public input meetings.

Regional planning eventually will adopt the overall plan as part of the long-range Northwest Arkansas Regional Transportation Plan.

Centerton and Johnson officials also began the approval process Tuesday night. Fayetteville and Bentonville submitted plans they have in place. Those were changed little in the final document but recommendations from the consultants likely will be added.

David Wright, director of Bentonville Parks and Recreation, said a regional approach is the way to go.

"I think the regional plans provide guidance to us about where to take our sidewalks or our trail networks so we can eventually link up with one another," Wright said earlier this year. "I think that's when we start benefiting everybody."

Rogers and Bentonville began the process earlier this month, Fayetteville will begin next week while Siloam Springs will hear McLarty's pitch in January.

"We want a high level of citizen participation," McLarty said. "No one is wanting to force this on anyone. No one is wanting to build a trail where nobody wants one."

Cities really need to approve individual plans if they want to qualify for grants or other financial help, McLarty said. Regional planning would like to see each of the cities adopt a plan and endorse the regional plan by the end of March.

"They're looking for community buy-ins, they're looking for adopted plans," McLarty said. "Don't put it on a shelf and forget about it."

Every city in the two-county area with a population of more than 1,000 gets an individual strategy. After approval, regional planners will begin looking for grants and other ways to pay for projects in the 25 cities.

But, even the towns and communities too small to qualify or too far away to connect to the greenway will benefit from the approach, according to McLarty.

"Because it's a two-county plan, it doesn't leave out the small towns," McLarty said. "This bike and pedestrian plan goes well beyond the Razorback Greenway."

Gentry is in the Arkansas 59 corridor, miles from the greenway.

Kevin Johnston, mayor of Gentry, said his city and others would not have been able to afford such plans on their own.

"The great thing about this plan is you can take it a little piece at a time and grow with it, let it grow with what you're able to do," Johnston said. "It's not just about connecting to other cities, it's connectivity to the amenities you already have."

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department recently announced a program to help towns that are not in urbanized areas build sidewalks and trails. About $5 million to $7 million is expected to be available. Towns such as Gentry, Winslow, West Fork, Lincoln and Decatur could qualify for a share of that money.

The Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway is a 36-mile trail system connecting the cities between south Fayetteville on the south and north Bentonville.