Rapid City already has a fabulous park system, but we're thrilled that it will get even bigger and better if the city council decides to spend almost $1.7 million in federal greenway funds to improve Founders Park on Omaha Street, tying the city bike path there to a planned trail system on nearby Cowboy Hill.

That was the top recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on how to best utilize the federal monies and we hope the full council likes the idea as much as we do.

The city is limited by federal guidelines on how it can spend those funds. They must be used for greenway, pedestrian and bike-path expansion projects, but additionally they should address safety issues and be part of an unfinished project or an existing master plan.

The Founders Park upgrade accomplishes all those things while creating what we expect will be a well-used trailhead to the Cowboy Park trails. The project's estimated price tag of $1.56 million includes new restrooms, an expanded parking area, a pedestrian bridge across Rapid Creek to a trailhead area on the north side of the creek and an extension of the bike path around the Executive Golf Course that will tie into the bike path system at Anamosa Street, improving pedestrian access to Cowboy Hill from north Rapid City.

The advisory board submitted four proposals for the council's consideration. While all of them have merit, we think the Founders Park upgrade is the best of the bunch. It creates another public park facility in the center of town, helps promote and protect the Cowboy Hill hiking trails for future generations to enjoy and better ties the underserved populations of north Rapid City into the city's park and recreation system.

Additionally, the federally-funded improvements will pair nicely with plans for a Founders Park Plaza on Omaha Street, which promoters say will memorialize the 1876 Rapid Creek camp site of city father John Brennan and 10 other gold miners who created the original town site for Rapid City.

The plaza and the improved park facilities at Founders Park are both great ways to honor Rapid City's history while improving the recreational facilities that present-day residents can enjoy.