HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-06.Applicant Letter
To: TOP Committee and Commissioner Krauss
From: Marilee Brown, Chair, GAP
Re: New and Requested information on Frontage Pathway Application
Date: Dec. 6, 2019
Gentlemen,
We are thrilled to be coming back to the Committee with requested information. We trust your
site visits went well. We plan to have experts and Board members available at the upcoming
meeting for your questions. In addition, we have a few new helpful items to share with you:
1) Recently, we ran across a valuable map that shows a two-year period of usage of bicycle
usage the STRAVA global heat data map system. Serious recreationalists use this system to
track where and how many miles they bike, etc. I am including a screen shot below, but you
can find the website at https://www.strava.com/heatmap#11.01/-111.20572/45.71525/hot/all
and experiment with it yourself as part of a site visit.
The higher the usage, the lighter the color. So white and yellow indicate high usage while red
and purple are low. We are impressed at how many people brave Frontage Road from the
Valley Center Spur to get to the Bridgers, the M, and into town. Clearly, Nelson Road,
Springhill, Valley Center and Flanders Mill are well used routes. Imagine people safely
connecting to Cherry River Fishing Access and the “M”.
While we plan on the path reaching all the way to Belgrade along Frontage Road in the not too
distant future, we see a tremendous benefit to providing a connection where there is already
high usage on the north and south sides of the Interstate. In other words, even if the path
never reaches Belgrade, there is a real, substantive benefit to get this key portion of the path to
the east of the Valley Center Spur built.
2) One of the major questions we always get is: Why can’t the city build this path from the
taxes that I pay? Public Works has stated to us that they have had to rate the Frontage
Pathway as a low priority, not because it does not deserve to be built and built soon, but
because they can’t spend City funds along roadways that are not a City Street Right-of-Way.
Since Frontage Road has not yet been annexed into the City (even though it is surrounded by
City Boundary and has City Property along it), they can’t allocate funds and therefore we need
to be opportunistic in finding other sources. Federal funding is no longer available. Other
resources are minimal. TOP funding is the best source that we have been able to identify.
The potential for TOP funding to act as a catalyst is important. If awarded, the City could then
acquire right-of-way from the rail road and then it automatically becomes a higher priority to
use City funds.
Thank you for recognizing that this pathway placed carefully in the overall scheme represents a
great bargain for fabulous recreation and a lifesaving opportunity.
Thank you for recognizing that this pathway represents a great bargain for both saving lives and
a fabulous opportunity for significantly expanding recreation.
Sincerely,
Marilee Brown, Chair
Galla10 Alliance for Pathways
406-579-5447