Solitude in the city

The hardest part for JRNAF has been money. Things were hopeful with Initiative 1 at the polls last year, but when that failed, the forum looked elsewhere. Now, it has organized with Salt Lake County for an $8.5 million congressional appropriations request. They will find out the results in November.

Still, there is hope. JRNAF presented its strategic plan to fix the trail to Salt Lake County, and the county has started working on one project at a time. So, like the tortoise in the race against the rabbit, the trail will slowly make its way to the Great Salt Lake. The first project will be a pedestrian overpass over 3900 South. After planning for three years, Talbot expects construction to start before December. His main goal as chairman has been accessibility.

However, there are some things money can't buy. River property has a high market value, and some is being used for other purposes. In its strategic plan, JRNAF placed Area D at the lowest priority, because it is "impossible to estimate when the land north of 9000 South will become available." The stretch is nearly a mile long and owned by Utah Power and the Fur Breeders Agricultural Co-op.

Still all members of JRNAF aren't giving up.

"Can you imagine the ecosystems and the wildlife that you would see just riding down the parkway?" Potts said. He wants to someday mountain bike from Mirror Lake in the Uintas to Utah Lake and then to the Great Salt Lake.

Though the Jordan River has received bad publicity for pollution, Williams said that the trail is its own enforcement. Elementary students learn about the river and pollution at the Environmental Education Center. The center is on the trail, set into a crook in the river and surrounded by natural growth. Trail recreation also helps.

"The people up and down the river, they're not a liability. They enhance the quality of the parkway and the river. They're the eyes and ears of the river. If they see something, they feel empowered to take action. The more people we have the better," Williams said.

Jeff Salt, president of Foundation for the Provo-Jordan River Parkway, agrees. Though an environmentalist and worried about the effects any trail can have on its surroundings, he says this trail does more harm than good because of the Jordan's reputation, which he said can be true. Every year Salt spends time cleaning up the river in his canoe and is always "appalled" at what he finds: shopping carts, tires, playground equipment and garbage from yards and homes. He reminds everyone that there is always someone downstream.

For more information about the parkway and its progress, go to www.planning.utah.gov/jrnaf.htm.

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E-mail: nandrews@desnews.com