The most anticipated link of the city’s trail system is now complete, and to celebrate, city officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony last week.
About 30 people attended the event which was held Wednesday on the trail just south of Maple Street behind Maple Street Apartments.
“This is an important trail connection that closes the gap between Frisco Trail and Scull Creek Trail creating a continuous 7.6 mile trail from Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to Old Missouri Road,” said Mayor Lioneld Jordan. “A big thanks goes to the hardworking guys on the trails crew.”
Mayor Jordan and others cut the ribbon
Mayor Jordan said the steep terrain and tight working space made the section of trail one of the most challenging to construct, but now that it’s complete, over 500 people are using it each day.
Dan Dean and Laura Kelly of the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks performed a couple of songs before the mayor spoke.
The city’s trails coordinator Matt Mihalevich and Bike City Recyclery founder Josh Thompson also said a few words.
The event also celebrated three bicycle-friendly awards recently given by the League of American Bicyclists. In September, the City of Fayetteville received a bronze designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business. Bike City Recyclery received silver designation as a Bicycle Friendly Business.
Below are a few embedded videos from Wednesday.
» Dan Dean and Laura Kelly (YouTube)
» Matt Mihalevich and Josh Thompson (YouTube)
The ceremony was actually just north of Lafayette; just south would have put the ceremony beside the parking lot behind Scarpino’s.
I actually meant to write “south of Maple Street,” not Lafayette. Thanks for catching that, Timothy.
Many thanks to all the good people who helped make this possible. It is really exciting to see these changes occurring in Our Fair Burg. The City Council, Bicycle Coalition, City Staff, trail users and other active participants deserve heaps o’ praise! Heap! Heap!
David Orr
why was coody showin his butt there?
Dan Coody was a big proponent of the trrail sytem- it likely would not be close what it is today if he hadn’t been for him. he deserved to be there. My question is why was Rhonda Adams featured in the photo? She is not a council member or a member of city government at all. Seems like free advertising for her campaign …is that even legal?
Rhonda Adams is not “featured” in our photo, but she did help cut the ribbon (not sure why), which certainly puts her in the shot. Using a photo of a candidate in a publication is not illegal and I can’t magically remove Mrs. Adams from the photo, but I do see your point about it possibly providing extra, unfair campaign exposure by sitting at the top of our story. I’ve swapped the two embedded photos from the main section to the body. It isn’t a huge change, but it might address your concerns. I’ll also consider your comment in the future when choosing photography to accompany our stories. Thanks.
One of Rhonda Adams’ campaign themes is “continued improvements to the trail systems and green spaces” (http://adams4ward4.com/key.html). She is a regular user of the excellent trail system we have in Fayetteville. So it seems entirely appropriate that she would be present at this event.
There is a difference between being ‘present’ at an event and worming your way into the ribbon cutting photo. Believe me, there were dozens of people ‘present’ as I rode by. (Actually, by ‘rode’ I mean ‘walked my bike through a throng of people too self-absorbed to realize they’re blocking an actively used trail and giving the impression most had never been on the trail before’.)
Seems like a transparent attention grab to me.
There likely would not be a trail system in Fayetteville without Dan Coody. Like it or not, he pushed for the trail system starting way back in 1991. When he became mayor, he pursued the trail system. He probably has more to do with the trail system existing in Fayetteville than the rest of the people there combined.
He didn’t single-handedly put a trail system in Fayetteville, but his support is a big part of the reason it exists today.
Hey, Burgerboy! It’s nice to hear about someone saying kind words like that. The trails system is one of my favorite accomplishments. It is gratifying to have helped set something in concrete that will be an asset for generations to come. I’m glad the public support is there to keep it going. There are naysayers for every improvement, but that is just to be expected. My wife and I are building a net-zero energy house that, I hope, will be an example of how people can live comfortably and responsibly at the same time. I hope you will come by some time so we can show it to you as we make progress.
I have to say I don’t get it. She isn’t on the Sidewalk or Trails committee. She is wearing a campaign t-shirt. Not the end of the world, but reeks of insider’ism. Not sure if this is the time and place for campaigning.
Who invited her? Was her opponent (Hummer driver though he is) given the same opportunity?
I want to cut a ribbon too. Is there a form or an audition process?
The internet sure seems to bring out the whiniest bunch of nitpicking tools. You Flyer dudes have patience beyond my capacity.
Of course she’s trying to grab attention. She’s running for flipping public office. Same as Mr. Hummer and his Dickey. Who cares if she gets to cut the little ribbon? Don’t like it? Don’t vote for her. Democracy made simple. Cheese & rice.
Sorry to vent. Now bring it on in for real (not real)……..{{{{{you}}}}}. Ooooh, that feels nice.
Who invited her? Perhaps she read about it here in the Flyer (http://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2010/10/20/city-hosts-frisco-trail-ribbon-cutting/). I suppose that anyone else (candidate or not) could attend, also. If I wasn’t out of town, I’d have been there.
Incidentally, the FF is about the best source for finding out about local events, thanks to the hard work of Dustin and Todd.
Todd- thank you for your attention on the photo although I actually wasn’t being critical of the Flyer. Rhonda Adams has her own pair of scissors in the photo which indicates to me that someone chose her to be in a prominent place at the ribbon cutting. I don’t know the criteria for that choice but selecting a candidate (with a campaign t-shirt on) during the election seems unfair. It isn’t a major issue but in a close election all issues are magnified- this positive image might sway that few voters that put her in office. We all know how close elections can be in Fayetteville.
@ George…
You are right. I dont have to vote for her and I wont.
@ Kim Agee
I agree with some others on here that as a candidate, Rhonda Adams wormed her way into being a part of the ribbon cutting process taking away from the people who truly deserved to do the ribbon cutting. It was a publicity stunt done in poor taste. One, it associates her with the City and the Mayor who are not real popular right now with the citizens because of some of their recent decisions. Two, it takes away from a nice city event. She had every right to be there, but no right too worm her way into a photo ribbon cutting. Poor taste and many people will see this for the true light. This may end up hurting her.