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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1998)
A STORM MOVES into the city and a biker quickly moves out of the way for another on the Billy Wolff trail Saturday evening. The trail was named after a boy killed by a car crossing South Street. l j§ beaten path Lincoln’s hiker biker trail network provides safety, convenience to residents By Darren Ivy Co-Editor When it came time to select a new house, Rich and Susan Rodenburg of Lincoln had one requirement — their new home be located on a trail. So they searched for three years until they found that perfect location, a house built directly on the Rock Island Trail in the Bishop Heights housing development. “Living on a trail really appealed to us because we use it so much,” said Susan Rodenburg, a former Great Plains Trail Network president and the current president of the Nebraska Trails Council. “It also is a safe place for our children to play.” The Rodenburgs aren’t unusual. Five thousand to 8,000 Lincoln resi dents use the more than 72 miles of trails each day during the summer for biking, walking, running and roller blading, said Mark Stark, Great Plains Trail Network president. A 1997 trail census taken by volunteers from the Great Plains Trail Network showed that bikers make up 74.8 percent of total users, while walkers are 12.8 percent, run ners 7.6 percent, skaters 2.8 percent, passen gers 2 percent and miscellaneous .2 percent. The Mopac Trail, John Dietrich Trail, Rock Island Trail and Billy Wolff Trail are the closest trails to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Other trails include the Highway 2 Trail, Murdoch Trail, Superior Highlands Trails, Salt Creek Trail and Old Cheney Trail. A new trail, the Bison Trail, is scheduled to be completed by the spring, said Lynn Johnson, planning and construction manag er for Lincoln Parks and Recreation Trail Blazing Lincoln marathoner Robb Finegan lives at the Mopac East Trail. He can be found out there at 6:30 a.m. four to five days a week running over 100 miles a week. “It’s so convenient,” Finegan said. “You stay out of traffic, they have mile markers and you can get through town easier. If it weren’t for trails, I would end up running on country roads.” Exercising is one reason people use the trails, but safety and social benefits are other reasons. All these factors have led to an increase in the popularity of trails, said Pat Foote, state recreation and outdoor trail planner for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Rodenburg said she knew it was only a matter of time before the trail craze hit Nebraska. “We had traveled to other states like Wisconsin and Minnesota where trail use was booming,” Rodenburg. “They almost have a safety problem because there are so many people.” In 1991, a Great Plains Trail Network census showed 5,362 trail users a day, but by 1996 that number had increased to 8,299 users per day, “Over the course of the last 10 years, the numbers keep going up and up,” he said. Hallie Stevens, a senior textile and apparel design major, is one of those people. She runs 40 to 50 miles a week on the trails. Stevens said she liked running on the trails because of the peacefulness and good scenery. “You are blocked off from the rest of the world and don’t have to worry about cars,” Stevens said. “The trails get my mind think ing about the scenery rather than how bad I am hurting.” The trails also are a good recruiting tool for NU Cross Country Coach Jay Diricsen. “I travel all over and to big cities and not many cities have as nice a set up as Lincoln,” Diiksen said. “I drop an athlete off on one of these trails and show them other trails, and they get to see the varied routes. “It gives us so many opportunities. We are really fortunate to have this set up.” The Master Plan The set up is no accident. The Lincoln trail system has taken years of planning to build and new projects are always in the works. Helen Boosalis laid the master trail plan for Lincoln when she was mayor in 1978. Rodenburg said the plan called for the development of certain trails as the city developed. The 4.4 mile Billy Wolff Trail was the first part of the plan. It was built along Antelope Creek in 1978 and connects City Campus with Antelope Park and Holmes Lake Park. Then, in 1987, the city developed a strategic planning process called Star Venture. Part of this plan called for a trails center in downtown Lincoln. But there was no money for trails at the time, so the city decided to try to pass a bond issue in 1988 to build the Rock Island Trail. In response to the bond issue, Elaine Hammer formed the Great Plains Trail Network to gamer votes for the bond issue. “One member of Star Venture told me we needed to form a community group to gather support for the bond issue,” Hammer said. “I had no idea it would grow to what it is today.” The Great Plains Trail Network now has more than 900 trail enthusiasts who promote and gather support for trails. While this group makes up the voice for the trails, it is Lincoln Parks and Recreation who serve as the backbone, maintaining the existing trails. Together these two groups complement each others’ work, Johnson said. “(GPTN) do some things that we can’t do,” Johnson said. “They raised $150,000 for the Bison Trail. The department doesn’t have the time or resources to do that.” The Bison Trail will connect Pioneers Park with the current Salt Creek Trail. Darlene Tussing, a Lancaster County Commissioner and member of the Bison fund-raising committee, said the Great Plains Trail Network helped lead the effort to connect Pioneers Park with the existing trail system. “When it’s completed, it will be one of the crowning jewels of Lincoln’s beautiful trail system.” Another trail plan people are less famil iar with and that may take a little longer to complete is the Crescent Green. Johnson said Crescent Green plan was started in the 1960s with the goal of having a trail run along Salt Creek from Wilderness Park to Superior Street. A trail currently runs from Wilderness Park to Capital Parkway West. Another seg ment along Salt Creek was recently built from 27th and Farifield streets to around 32nd and Superior streets. “It is a big vision that takes time,” Johnson said. “There are bits and pieces that have happened, but it will be at least 20 years before it is completed.” Trail Benefits The master trail plan may not be com plete, but the current system earned Lincoln a top-10 trail-town rating from the American Hiking Society in 1996. Johnson said one reason Lincoln has been able to develop such a successful trail network is because a large number of aban doned railroad lines converged on down town. “The city was far-sighted enough to buy the land and plan trails,” Johnson said. Another reason for numerous trails is the number of creeks in Lincoln and the idea to run trails along those creeks. Rodenburg said support of trails from 66 The trails get my mind thinking about the scenery rather than how bad lam hurting.” Hallie Stevens senior, textile and apparel design the mayor, Lincoln City Council, Lancaster County Board, Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, Great Plains Trail Network and private donations from indi viduals and companies have enabled the rapid expansion of trails. “Everyone has embraced the concept that trails enhance the quality of life here in Lincoln,” Rodenburg said. “It rolls over into economic value. Trails add to what Lincoln has to offer.” The value of trails can be seen in several new housing developments in Lincoln that have decided to build trails into their neigh borhoods. The Williamsburg Trail and Highlands Park Trail are two examples. Bob Hampton, president and owner of Hampton Development Services, said he built trails into his new developments because he believed they made better neighborhoods and because home buyers wanted them. “The lots that back up to the trails are the first ones to sell, sometimes even before the roads are built,” Hampton said. Happy Trails Trail popularity in Lincoln is already booming, but future trail projects received even more good news when Congress passed the Highway Act earlier this year, Foote said. Before the highway grant was passed, communities and the federal government each paid 50 percent of the costs. Now, the federal government pays 80 percent and the community pays 20 percent. “(The Nebraska Trail Development Assistance Fund) has $270,000 to make in grants compared to $90,000 before the pass ing,” Foote said. “It was really hard for com munities to get going before.” “Our main goal now is to have key link ages of the trails,” Johnson said. Other trail projects being discussed include a new trail along Steven’s Creek m northeast Lincoln, an Antelope Creek Trail expansion in southeast Lincoln and the Rock Island Trail expansion to Densmore and Wilderness Parks. While these projects are the city’s future plans, Hammer has another project she would like to see completed. Hammer said a trail linkage between East Campus and City Campus was crucial to the whole trail system because it would not only connect the campuses, but it would also connect the WolfFTrail with the Mopac Trail. “It is the connection that needs to be made,” Hammer said. “It’s our number one priority to get that connection when the land becomes available.” Rodenburg meanwhile is doing all she can to see trails continue to be built in Lincoln. “It’s my passion,” Rodenburg said “It’s gratifying for me seeing people enjoy the trails.”