By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)
The state Transportation Commission has approved funding for several existing recreational trails, and some new ones. The DOT’s Scott Flagg oversees the trail program and says one project will link the Raccoon River Valley Trail to the High Trestle Trail in central Iowa. “Once that’s complete, you’re gonna be able to get on a bike in West Des Moines and you could potentially ride it and go around the whole loop around Des Moines into Ames and all those towns in between. So that’s a pretty big connection,” he says. That project is getting $675,000.
Jasper County is receiving nearly $500,000 for the Red Rock Prairie Trail. “It’s going to connect Prairie City to Mitchellville and that’s going to add another, I think is existing nine-mile trail right now, so we’ll have a 16-mile trail and you’re gonna make a couple of connections into some smaller communities,” he says. “And then also bring people access, they want to get into like the Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge and some of the different features and sites you can visit.”
The Fontana Park Learning and Discovery Trail project is getting $238,000. “That’s in Buchanan County. And they have an existing kind like a bison learning area that they’re putting the trail in,” Flagg says. “In addition they’re also building a trailhead, and then they’re also including a restroom facility in that as well.” Phase two of the Little River Scenic Pathway is receiving $346,913 in funding. “That’s down there in Decatur County. And I know we have previously funded a project down there a couple of years ago. And so this is an extension of that project,” he says. “It’s near the town of Leon and they’re also going to be building this future county conservation building that’s going to have a lot of different features for like local school groups, and people that are interested in different animals inside the county and things like.”
Phase two of the Ballpark to Ballpark Shelby County Trail Phase was awarded $463,000 “It’s a great project, because that’s an area where there may not be a lot of existing trails. And so they’re building that infrastructure out right now and they’re hoping you can connect to the neighboring town,” Flagg says.
Polk County won funding for a mountain bike park. Flagg says these types of parks can bring in a lot of people. “There’s huge one down in northwest Arkansas, it’s a pretty big draw, you know, nationally, internationally,” Flagg says. “The hope there is to also bring folks into Des Moines that are interested in mountain biking.” He says the facility will offer a lot of different things for bikers. “There’s like ramps, there’s all kinds of different different courses you can run, different challenges,” he says. That project is getting $400,000.
The State Recreational Trails Program requires 25% of the project to be paid for by the city or county getting the funds. Flagg says they had 44 applications requesting more than 21 million dollars in this round.
