Grant jumpstarts Skyline trails plan

By Scott Aust, Journal staff | Tuesday, September 16, 2008

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Rapid City has received a $50,000 grant from the state recreational trails program to begin building a trail system in the Skyline Wilderness Area.

The money will help put into action the trail system master plan being prepared by Arkansas-based landscape architect Eastin Outdoors for the 150 acres of undeveloped land along Skyline Drive that the city acquired in early 2007 to preserve as natural open space for walking, mountain biking and general public enjoyment.

Jerry Cole, parks and recreation director, said Eastin will submit a rough draft of the proposed plan to the city by the end of September. Work could begin on the trails system some time next year.

"I have no idea where these proposed trails are going to go or where the entry points are going to be, at this point," Cole said. "We'll send it to the board for suggestions and get it OK'd. Then we'll take the money and figure out which section is our priority for right now. It's not enough to do the entire trail system, but it will be a good start."

Cole said the city applied for $100,000 but received only $50,000. Cole thinks the tight economy played a role.

"I think the state looked at it, and there were a lot of good projects this year. They tried to pass the money around to a lot of projects that were requesting money," he said. "It would be nice to have all the money to complete the project, but we don't. So we're going to complete what we can, based on priorities."

Developing a trail system is somewhat restricted. The area must remain in as natural a state as possible, so only "soft path" unpaved trails will be developed.

The consultant has been studying how existing and proposed trails fit with the lay of the land and various uses and will develop a plan for new bicycle and pedestrian trails, entry and exit trailheads, and identify existing trails that should be closed or rehabilitated.

Meanwhile, efforts to secure a National Scenic Byway designation for Skyline Drive have petered out -- for now.

Skyline Drive was designated a state scenic byway in 2006 after nearly five years of working with the state Department of Transportation. To get a national designation, the city needed to prepare and adopt a corridor-management plan for the road to define the boundaries of the corridor, its intrinsic qualities and strategies that would be used to maintain it as a scenic byway.

Late last year and early this year, the city considered hiring a consultant to prepare a management plan for the road, but eventually, the issue faded from view, largely due to cost. The estimated cost of preparing the study was about $60,000. 

"Right now, we don't have the money," Marcia Elkins, city growth management director, said. "We've got it on our list if funding becomes available. It's still out there. It just hasn't happened yet."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com