BENTONVILLE -- The NWA Trailblazers want to build a trail that would make Northwest Arkansas Community College more bicycle-friendly and provide an alternative crossing under West Hudson Road.
"We need more people on bikes and less cars on the road," said Erin Rushing, executive director of NWA Trailblazers, a trail development organization.
Meeting Information
The Board of Trustees will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday on the third floor of Burns Hall on the Bentonville campus.
Source: Staff Report
Rushing, along with Daniel Marley, project manager for the group, addressed the college's Land Use Committee on Thursday about building a trail that would connect the trail that ends by the Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies north of campus to the trail that ends behind the Sam's Club on Bekaert Drive.
The proposed trail would run along Southeast Eagle Way from the northwest corner of campus, south through a tunnel under West Hudson Road, to the south side of Sam's.
Bentonville has access to the college campus by trail, but this would allow Rogers access to the campus, Marley said. The new trail would connect to the Razorback Greenway.
"Are we going to have to increase the number of bike racks on campus," asked Jerry Verack, committee member.
"Yes, definitely," Debi Buckley, vice president of administration for the college, quickly responded.
Some students will be able to commute by bike, but Buckley said she envisions other students driving to campus with their bike in tow then cycling as a means to get around campus.
"This would also make it easier for students to get from campus to Brightwater," said Lucas Pointer, committee chairman.
Brightwater is the college's culinary studies program. It is an anchor tenant in the 8th Street Market downtown, about one mile from the college's campus.
It'll also get more of the community on campus as they use the trail that runs through it, said Ricky Tompkins, chief academic officer.
"That's part of our mission as a community campus," he said.
The committee voted to support the project and will take its recommendation to the Board of Trustees at its meeting Monday.
There was discussion of the college donating land for the project, but that was not part of Thursday's vote.
The project, if approved by the board, likely would be finished in late 2020 or early 2021, Rushing said.
The committee also decided the physical plant facility should be refurbished and used for workforce development programs and a new physical plant should be built on the northeast corner of campus.
The new building would cost about $1 million, according to Buckley. That doesn't include the cost to refurbish the current building.
NW News on 03/08/2019