Pleasant Grove gets funds for city trail

PLEASANT GROVE — After three years of planning and price increases, Pleasant Grove has now received $670,000 of federal funding from the Mountainland Association of Governments to build a trail in the city.

The paved trail, which will be 10 feet wide and a little more than a mile long, is the missing link to connect an already existing sidewalk and trail system in downtown Pleasant Grove to the city's planned Gateway area near I-15.

"Not everyone can afford to hop in a car, buy expensive equipment and take off for 100 miles to get to places where they're isolated or away from the whole concrete atmosphere," said Pleasant Grove Mayor Mike Daniels. "By combining these urban trails into trails that look more rural, you give people the opportunity to go outside after dinner and start taking a walk."

Frank Mills, Pleasant Grove city administrator, said the city hopes the project will be completed this fall. Mills said the city will look for construction bids this summer.

Although Pleasant Grove has received a significant amount of funding from MAG, the city is responsible for 10-12 percent of the costs— roughly $60,000.

The trail was originally approved three years ago, but MAG didn't have enough money to fund the project at the time, said Jim Price, a MAG transportation planner. MAG is the designated transportation planning entity for Utah County and receives federal and state funding for various projects.

Two years ago, the trail project was approved up to $370,000, but then labor and materials costs skyrocketed and the trail needed an additional $300,000 to get on the ground.

Additional funding for the trail was approved last month by the Utah Department of Transportation.

Price said it makes sense "to build an environment" in the community where exercise becomes part of everyday life. "Part of that is to get out on these trails where people are more comfortable walking or bicycling or skateboarding," Price said.

According to Price, there are 157 existing miles of urban trail in Utah Valley. Pleasant Grove's new trail will connect the existing Murdock Canal trail with State Street and continue across the I-15 interchange.

Ultimately, Price said, the path will run all the way to Utah Lake and to the mouth of Provo Canyon. Over the next 24 years, Price said, MAG intends to add an additional 192 miles to the valley.

"If you connect homes and places where people want to go, it gives them the opportunity, and in many ways, gives them the impetus to leave their cars at home," Price said. "Trails are a psychological attraction. It's comfortable. It's convenient. It's safe, and it's attractive."

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