SPRINGDALE -- The city of Springdale wants to realign the Razorback Regional Greenway as it crosses over West Emma Avenue.
Emma sits at the heart of the city's growing downtown district.
Council members, working as a committee of the whole on Monday, saw artist's renderings of the reimagined space, presented by Patsy Christie, director of the city's Planning Department.
The council, at its next regular meeting April 26, will vote to contract with McClelland Construction to make the changes.
The total cost of construction is set at $4.5 million, with the city paying just $1.2 million, Christie said.
The Walton Family Foundation provided the city with a $1.8 million Design Excellence Grant for the design of the trail through Springdale.
Christie said the city was asked to apply to the foundation for a construction grant for this realignment. The grant was awarded to the city at $3.1 million.
Christie noted the foundation agreed to pay for the costs directly related to the greenway, leaving the city to pay for the streetscape from Holcomb Street to Spring Street.
Mayor Doug Sprouse suggested the council pull the city's portion of the project from the undesignated funds in the city budget.
Colby Fulfer, the city's chief of staff, reported the budget has $17 million of funds not allocated for other projects.
Dean LaGrone, a member of the city's former Trails Committee, said the new alignment makes more sense for a bicyclist. The approaches to Emma now require very sharp turns on both the north and south sides.
LaGrone thinks the new alignment will increase visibility for riders.
He noted Emma is also a place where cyclists would clip or unclip their shoes from the pedals and might want to get on or off their bikes.
"There are just a lot of things happening in that area," he said.
La Grone said the original alignment of the greenway was all that was available at the time it was built. He also noted it's nobody's fault that the design needs upgrading.
The trail's new approach from Meadow Avenue north to Emma will provide a plaza space and gathering areas on both sides of the trail, Christie explained.
It also will link Turnbow Park and Shiloh Square to Luther George Park, currently undergoing its own renovation.
The actual crossing will be shifted a few feet to the west, Christie said, with development over a box culvert as is the rest of the trail through downtown, Christie said.
The greenway through downtown will be lighted the same as the rest of the greenway, with a sign reading "mile 16" alongside the trail as a photo opportunity for cyclists, Christie said.
The Regional Razorback Greenway was opened May 2, 2015, with a ribbon cutting on Emma.
Christie explained the Emma Avenue crossing marked the exact center of the trail -- Mile 13 -- when the 26-mile trail opened, but the trail has been extended to 37.5 miles from Kessler Mountain in the south and Bella Vista in the north, leaving Springdale at Mile 16.
Razorback Greenway looking south from Emma Avenue