$21 million collected for Utah County trails

There's a lot of talk in Utah County about the need for more roads — but that doesn't mean the area's transportation planners have forgotten about trails.

As part of a recently proposed regional transportation plan, the Mountainland Association of Governments, which oversees Utah County's transportation needs, has outlined 40 new trails that could be built across the county by 2030.

Although funds for trails are hard to come by, MAG has collected about $21 million that can only go toward paying for non-motorized trails. That will be money well-spent, says Darrell Cook, executive director of MAG.

"Trails have a lot of amenities and benefits from an air quality point of view, if people used those instead of driving," Cook said. "I think it's a vital element of our overall transportation outlook and our quality of life."

MAG is accepting public comment on its plan, and some people have said they are skeptical about spending money on trails, Cook says.

Included in the transportation plan are road and transit projects, and displaying trail projects alongside the two more popularly expressed needs can be confusing.

"If you give three maps — roads, transit and rails — it gives the impression that we put more money into trails than is the case," Cook said. "I think some of the criticism about transit or trails is that it's a reflection that we're so far behind the curve with trying to catch up the road network, that any diversion seems like we're putting (roads) as a lower priority, but we're behind in transit and trails, too."

Cook said a majority of funding for trails comes from federal grants and Utah's Department of Transportation. Local municipalities are required to match a portion of federal and UDOT funds when building trails.

Out of the 40 proposed trails, the first that is expected to be built — starting next spring — is a 10-foot asphalt trail from the Lake Shore Trail in Lindon to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. The trail will cost about $4.5 million, said Jim Price, a MAG transportation planner.

Utah County has about 450 miles of trail, including U.S. Forest Service trails. The Provo River Parkway trail is the most popular of the county's urban trails, drawing about 750,000 people a year, including those who use the trail to commute to work.

Several cities are anxious to have their paths built — but not necessarily paved.

Eric Hazelet, mayor of Genola, said that a paved trail in his community would become a "throughway for four-wheelers" and be a "waste of asphalt," but MAG's trail suggestions don't have to be set in stone, Price says. Hazelet's concern over a proposed trail from Payson to Eureka could be solved with a crushed stone top instead of asphalt, for example.

"We have no authority to impose this on cities," Price said. "If (cities) don't want any of these (trails) then they'll likely not be built, because we can't go over their heads and we're not going to."

Pleasant Grove Mayor Mike Daniels said he doesn't think trails are a viable solution to decrease road and highway traffic, but he still wants them in his city.

"I think trails are a very good thing to have, particularly as we grow as a community and become more urbanized," Daniels said. "I think it's important for people to actually have spaces where they're able to get out and enjoy nature and walk and bike and not have to travel long distances in a car to do so. Trails should be a part of what we do."

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