BIKE: Re: Boggy Creek Greenbelt trail upgrade

[David Foster]

I would like to suggest that the best solution here may be to move the trail
into the rail corridor as a Rails-with-Trails bikeway, and make this a part
of the proposal that Cap Metro plans to bring to the voters this November.
The RwT here should be paid for with Cap Metro money, from the same pot they
are going to use to build rail, should the voters approve. That way, the
neighbors could have their gravel trail, and we could have a bikeway that
makes all the connections Dave describes. In any case, I will always defer
to Dave's judgment on Boggy Creek Trail due to all the outstanding work he
has been doing here.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave W" <daveintex13>
To: <forum-bicycleaustin.info>
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 8:47 PM
Subject: BIKE: Boggy Creek Greenbelt trail upgrade


> 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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