Proposed bike trail would benefit all
Local officials have started work on a statewide recreational trail system which is anticipated to run along the ancient Bonneville Lake shoreline near Logan.
The Bonneville Shoreline Trail planners envision it crossing city and county lines and accommodating activities such as biking, hiking, cross-country skiing and other forms of non-motorized activities.
On a regional level, departments including the city of Logan, North Logan, the Forest Service, Utah State University and other state organizations are pulling together to cut a segment of this trail between Green Canyon and Logan Canyon.
“In addition to providing recreation, it will also be an opportunity to keep wildfires at a minimum,” said Russ Akina, Parks and Recreation director.
Along with the trail itself providing a fuel break, vegetation including quaking aspen and columbine will serve as a fire buffer, he said.
After the segment from Logan Canyon to Green Canyon is completed, the trail will move to phase two and hopefully penetrate into Dry Canyon Providence city limits. Phase three is planned to connect the Dry Canyon segment to Logan Canyon making the trail more than four miles long.
According to Akina, the segment’s total cost is estimated at $93,000, but grants from city, Forest Service, Bear River Association of Governments (BRAG) and others, should defray costs.
Planners are positive regarding the amount of support, but one issue still remains. The trail will sometimes cross private land. This causes concerns such as property value, theft and the esthetic quality of the trail.
“Each individual case will be addressed,” Akina said.
Paul Morgan, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) administrator, oversees getting maps and property issues under control. He has also been out to the trail site to look over the terrain.
“The trail is in its early planning stages,” he said. “It is by no means built.”
Corbett Belcher, former landscape architecture and environmental planning student at USU, addressed this issue in his honors thesis and city-commissioned study.
He wrote, “After collecting data by survey, interview, research and documented information, it is evident that the pros heavily outweigh the cons, and the residents’ concerns, though legitimate, are unsubstantiated.”
Belcher found that property value generally increased when it was closer to a trail such as this.
“The land value decreased by $4.20 per square foot [the further] it was away from the trail,” he wrote.
He found, however, that traffic density in neighborhoods near the trails had been a problem. The city is combating this by proposing only three trail heads: one at Green Canyon public access point, one at Logan Canyon and one at a branch two-thirds up the trail at Lundstrom Park.
The Parks and Recreation Department proposed that a section of the trail be over USU land. Dale Hussaker, university property agent, is currently working on an agreement or easement across the land.
Although the trails are not officially open, there are primitive footpaths on or near the trail site. The Logan Canyon to Green Canyon section should be open in the next year or two, if everything goes as planned Akina said.