WEST FORK -- About 50 West Fork and Greenland residents showed up Thursday night to toss out ideas for trail networks and talk about eventually connecting to the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway.

"I'm all for it. It's beautiful country and we need a safe place for families and kids and walkers," said Carol Spears, who started riding bikes around rural Washington County 20 years ago. "It's about time, we're way behind."

The prospect of smaller towns joining the regional trail system was little more than a dream until the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission began the bike and pedestrian planning process late last year. Under the plan, every city in the two-county area with a population of more than 1,000 will get their own city trail plan. All the plans will eventually be merged into a regional plan then planners will begin looking for ways to pay for the system and, where possible ways to connect to the greenway system.

Drafts should be done in June and be approved in September.

The plans will include everything from designated bike lanes along roads to paths, sidewalks and multi-use trails.

"I grew up in this town. For a kid, this town is pretty boring," Casey Sidebottom said. "You need to do something for your kids, they're going to be your future."

Greenland Mayor Bill Groom said neither city has money to tackle such a project independently but by working together and with regional planning the cities can get on the regional and state bicycle and pedestrian plans and maybe land some grant money that will make connecting with the greenway a reality.

"We're gonna have to show them a buy-in of some kind," said Charlie Rosetti, West Fork mayor. "We need to show we're sincere about it."

Groom and Rosetti said trails have been an economic benefit to bigger cities in the region. Property near the greenway tends to be worth more and businesses are locating near the trails.

"It's costly on the front end but it'll pay for itself," Groom said. "It's an economic driver."

While much of the discussion was about road sharing on rural loops, walking trails around the parks and schools and bridges across the West Fork of the White River, Scott Oliver said the economic benefit will be from getting people downtown.

"If we do this right, there's no ceiling," Scott Oliver said. "I think there are ways to make sure there are loops into the downtowns of West Fork and Greenland."

There are several possible connections. U.S. 71, with its wide shoulders and lower traffic counts runs through both towns and is popular with cyclists and there are back road options. Greenland's northern city limit is only 1.5 miles or so from where Fayetteville plans to build a regional park that will be connected to Fayetteville's trail system and the greenway.

If Greenland and West Fork can connect to the 36-mile greenway, residents will have access to all the amenities of the rapidly developing trail system from Bentonville to south Fayetteville. In turn, city residents will have access to more rural rides and, in time, recreational areas such as Devil's Den, Lake Wilson, Mount Gaylor and the West Fork of the White River.

There are several roads that loop into rural areas around the towns and back, including Mineral Springs Road to Wallin Mountain Road east of U.S. 71, Campbell Loop between Greenland and West Fork and a long loop formed by Arkansas 170 and 265 toward Devil's Den.

John Crawford, 17 and a junior at West Fork High School, has been working on ideas for a city trail system.

He envisions a walking, running and biking pedestrian trail to promote health and wellness in West Fork as well as serve as a practice area for the high school cross country team or as a path for nature enthusiasts.

His efforts have focused on encouraging participation in the dialogue, using a packet of information and survey he developed in his Environmental and Spatial Technology lab. The EAST program, offered in many high schools in Northwest Arkansas, is geared to use specialized technology to solve community issues.

As part of his project, he has met with West Fork city officials and Alta Planning and Design, which are the trail designers.

Crawford's goal is to see the trail extended and to rally support for the idea among his peers at the high school and neighbors in the community.

"It's great to have that connection to the school and to be student-driven," Rossetti said.

Rossetti and Dave Roebke, park director, have attended public sessions when Crawford has presented his case for an extension to the trail planners.

Jo Lawson, EAST facilitator at West Fork High School, said the work sprang from a seed she planted in an email to students, offering suggestions on the types of projects the students might want to consider.

"John is the one who took it past a suggestion," she said. "He followed up with phone calls and he's very good at motivating crowds, students. He wants to be there to help the city in the next steps."

Lawson added, "He wants to a be benefit to the community and he sees it safer for his friends."