Parks & Trails Council of MN, 2014 Day on the Hill: bonding bill includes $2.5M for development of the MN River Bottoms trail

I attended the 2014 Parks and Trails Council Day on the Hill on Tuesday with my MORC Board member hat on, as I’m paying close attention to the bonding bills (HF 2497 and SF 2144) that have been introduced at MN Legislature. (See the March 6 blog post by the MN Parks and Trails Council titled Over 100 gather to advocate for parks and trails.)

Ed CrozierThe bills include $2.5 million in funding “to develop the Minnesota Valley Trail from the Bloomington Ferry Bridge to the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Bloomington.” Among those invited to speak about various trails seeking funding was Ed Crozier, Friends of the MN Valley Trail Advocacy Group. Ed’s presentation included a video explaining his group’s rationale for adding a paved segment to the trail system.

The MORC Board approved a position statement on the development of the MN River Trail a couple of weeks ago.  Excerpt:

MORC-River-Bottoms-Statement-2014

It is the position of Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC) that the Minnesota Valley trail from the vicinity of old Cedar Avenue to the former Bloomington Ferry Bridge trailhead be designated, developed, and preserved as a single natural surface multi-use trail. The only needed improvements to the trail are bridges, culverts, and boardwalks, to provide environmentally acceptable stream and natural drainage crossings. Some minor re-routing and surface maintenance work may be required to minimize rutting, erosion, and pothole formation in the trail surface.

More to come on this issue but in the meantime, see my large slideshow (recommended) of 30 photos or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow: