Vehicles drive along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the current dead-end point of Frisco Trail Thursday morning.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
Another panel put its stamp of approval on sending Frisco Trail users under Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday voted unanimously to recommend building a 140-foot, lighted tunnel under the state highway as part of an upcoming project that will extend the trail south to Walker Park.
For more detail on the three options being considered, see our June 8 story.
Graphic: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
It’s now up to the City Council’s Street Committee to make a final decision during its next regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
A tunnel has also been endorsed by city staff, project engineers, the Active Transportation Advisory Board and 50 out of 73 residents who responded to a public survey in June.
The tunnel would be built exclusively for the trail, similar to the 270-foot tunnel that was just completed under Garland Avenue (see photos here) for the newly opened Meadow Valley Trail.
Other options to cross the roadway include an at-grade crossing and a 20-foot-tall bridge with 310-foot ramps on each side.
Matt Mihalevich, city trails coordinator, has estimated the costs to be about $1.3 million for a tunnel, $1.6 million for a bridge and $960,000 for an at-grade crossing.
Grants from The Home Depot Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation are set to cover the design of the project, and construction costs are to be paid using grant money from the NWA Regional Planning Commission for use on the planned Razorback Regional Greenway, a 36-mile trail that will connect south Fayetteville to north Bentonville.
Maybe they will reconsider the terrible deciscion to cross School School (Highway 71B) at street level. That has to be one of the most destructive plans for Fayetteville’s street network that has been made in years. It will be unsafe for trail users and drivers alike. With all the discussion about the MLK crossing the South School crossing decision has been ignored even though it will have a large effect on traffic flow through Fayetteville. Please take another look at this plan and come up with something that is safe and will not cause a traffic hazzard.
Agreed.
Please excuse the poor grammar and spelling- this was a very quickly made post. I do hope that somone in city government will see the mistake in the decision to approve the South School crossing at street level and take steps to correct it. I realize that the plan for the crossing was presented very convincingly but it is flawed and presented with the intent to get it through without close inspection. Throwing up a permanent roadblock to smooth trafffic flow on the principle route through central Fayetteville is a mistake and and hurts the trails program by making it less safe.
yep, a crosswalk between lights on a highway seems like a terribly unsafe idea. we need to reconsider that proposal.
Oh well. I thought a well designed bridge could have had a lot of character. And even though some people are acting oblivious, this isn’t exactly the best part of town to have a long tunnel if we’re interested in making women feel safe on the trail. I’ve talked to plenty of women who just completely avoid the storm sewer that was converted to a tunnel – just because it’s so long and there’s nowhere to go. Don’t get me wrong, I like tunnels, and I’ll use one very comfortably, but I thought a bridge was a better choice for everyone, and could have looked pretty cool if done right.
Anyways, I’d always vote for going under or over. Preferably over with a beautiful bridge. No more stoplight crossings please.
Women will not be forced to use the tunnel. They can cross at School and MLK.
Oh, and while we’re talking about trails, can someone let me know when I need to go lay in front of a bulldozer and cement truck at Lake Fayetteville so they don’t ruin my favorite stretch of the trail and favorite place in Fayetteville to run? Adding a new dirt trail won’t be nearly the same if it just runs alongside the pavement and all of the missing trees. I suspect trail people will look at this article, so I’d really like to know the details.
The trails at Lake Fayetteville were originally built by volunteers, and OORC has busted their backsides maintaining and improving the soft surface trail. The city will mow the grass along the paved trail, and 30 feet away they’ll leave the poison ivy and thorn bushes to block the dirt trail.
Too late to lay before the tractor – the paved trail is being constructed now by the looks of the connection being built just to south of the parking lot at Veteran’s Memorial park.
(I think it will be fine).
It’s not a trail unless it is paved.
Was there ever a plan posted online? I guess I’m most interested in if they are paving over the existing dirt trail or building the paved trail off to the side of the existing trail. Funny, I thought I would have found more support in Fayetteville for not plowing right through the nicest woods in town to hike or run through. If they’re paving over the existing trail, or if they’re really plowing through the woods with 30 feet on each side, then it is a real travesty, and you don’t have to rub it in because it really breaks my heart.
Hi Ryan. Here’s my story and map about the Lake Fayetteville Trail project. It’s from January, but I haven’t heard of any changes since then. Sorry for the delayed response on this one.
» Lake Fayetteville Trail paving completion project set for this summer
Thanks, Todd! I’m glad to see the concrete is going to veer away from the nature trail in some places by what looks to be a pretty big amount. It’s still a shame to cut down and disrupt our woods in that way, and I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how it affects the scenery from the nature trail, but at least it doesn’t seem on paper to interfere with the existing trail too much.
A bridge would be nothing more than an elevated tunnel. To have a bridge across a street like that requires the bridge to be completely fenced over, so some yahoo doesn’t throw junk off it and hit cars below.
“I’ve talked to plenty of women who just completely avoid the storm sewer that was converted to a tunnel – just because it’s so long and there’s nowhere to go.”
There’s no where to go on a pedestrian bridge either. And no one on the ground pays attention to what goes on up on the bridge. Plus they cost more to build.
Any “at-grade” crossings of anything wider than a two-lane street should not exist.
jmo
I love the city trail system and want to see it continue to grow. A tunnel or bridge at MLK are they only realistic choices. There is just too much traffic on MLK and the trail for a crosswalk to be safe and efficient. A bridge may be the better choice. It could be a chance to dress up this part of town if an interesting design is chosen and the ramps are well landscaped.