BIKE: Boggy Creek Greenbelt trail upgrade

[Dave W]

Patrick’s description of the petition is accurate. 
But I think the validity or invalidity of the petition
is not the issue.  The petition reflects a *strong*
preference among folks who regularly use the existing
gravel trail not to have it paved.  That’s evident in
their use of the term “Hike and Bike Trail,” which to
me conjures images of the Town Lake Hike and Bike
Trail (the petition is titled “Save the Boggy Creek
Hike and Bike Trail”).

As far as the Boggy Creek Bikeway is concerned, the
Rosewood Neighborhood Planning Team (some, maybe all,
Rosewood planners are behind the petition) was one of
the first groups to support it when the enhancements
application was put forward in 2001.  They supported
the Bikeway then and they support it now.

What they don’t support is building a paved multi-use
trail in place of the existing gravel path.  And there
may be no reason to do that.  There are other possible
routes, including creek flood plain, railroad
right-of-way, and surface streets, but I haven’t been
able to get answers as to what’s already been
considered or what could be considered.

The neighbors are opposed to the current project on
the grounds of paving material and width.  In their
11-Jun-2001 letter of support for the Bikeway, they
listed some concerns, among them that the “Bikeway
should be made of pea gravel, not impervious
material.”

The existing gravel path goes through some very narrow
slices of greenbelt and could appear, to some, as
another in the multitude of paved surfaces nearby (a
road, basically).  They believe it would be out of
place and eat up a good portion of the green-ness in
those areas.

The City has bent over backwards to try to accomodate
them.  They’ve sought variances for a narrower
width--8 feet instead of 10--and I believe they were
successful.  I don’t know if they tried to go with a
concrete-with-exposed-aggregate surface or not.  That
might’ve been rejected due to cost but answers remain
elusive.  C-w-e-a is what already exists from 12th St
south to Rosewood Ave.  The gravel part is only from
Rosewood south to Webberville Rd at Conley-Guerrero
Center.

The long term future of the Boggy Creek Bikeway, and
by Bikeway I mean a paved, shared-use trail that
connects destinations north and south, depends on
being able to get cyclists and other users through the
Greenbelt area.  But it does not have to do it by
routing it where it may not make sense.  The Bikeway
is likely to attract higher speed alternative modes,
as the article noted.  Just as it makes sense to put
6-lane Interstates in some areas and residential
streets in others, it might make sense to route
through traffic on a Bikeway away from kids wandering
about, people walking  dogs, and the like.

I see no reason why there can’t or shouldn’t be TWO
trails in that area, serving different purposes.  I
also see no reason to create enemies where none exist.

The bad news is the City may not be able to budge from
the proposed contract terms.  The good news is there
appears still to be time to work something out.

FACTS:

- Currently in the Greenbelt, an exposed aggregate
concrete trail exists from E 12th St south to Rosewood
Ave, and a composite granite (gravel) trail exists
from Rosewood Ave south to Webberville Rd.  

- An STP4c grant was applied for and received by the
City to upgrade the existing unpaved portion of the
Greenbelt trail and fix (replace) existing bridges.

- The $375k Boggy Creek Greenbelt trail upgrade is an
80/20 Federal-local funded project.  With Federal
money, you have to build to Federal standards (10 foot
wide asphalt), unless you can get a waiver from the
state DOT.

Dave


	
		
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