Dakota County officials plan to speed up construction on dozens of miles of the county's greenway system to meet skyrocketing demand for trails, an amenity that has grown even more popular during the pandemic.
"They're extremely popular because they connect people to where they want to go," said Jeff Bransford, senior management specialist and administrative manager for Dakota County's parks department.
The county's greenway system — blacktop-paved trails intended for walkers, bikers and other transportation modes — currently consists of 42 miles of trails, with 16 more miles in the works over the next four years.
Now, the county has committed to spending $80-100 million over 10 to 15 years to build 77 more miles of the greenways, Bransford said. Altogether, they hope the new segments also boost the safety of the trail network.
Dakota County officials first envisioned the greenway system — linear parks of sorts — in 2008. The network goes beyond recreation and provides transportation, environmental and economic benefits, too, he said.
Louis Moore, president of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota, remembers when the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis debuted and people didn't understand what it was. That has changed and enthusiasm for the trails has spread across the metro.
"Bicycling has become so popular that we need as many bike trails as possible," he said.
The Dakota County system's popularity has grown over time. In 2014, the greenway had 242,300 users, a number that mushroomed to 691,800 users in 2019. During that time, a "few key signature projects" to expand the greenway and make it safer occurred, Bransford said.
Anecdotally, visitors increased by 30% to 40% during the summer of 2020, Bransford said, as people stayed close to home and sought new ways to enjoy the outdoors during the pandemic.
County Commissioner Joe Atkins, whose district includes Inver Grove Heights and parts of Eagan and Rosemount, said the greenways give people choices for getting around. But the county needs to pick up the pace of construction to increase safety for the burgeoning number of users.
Now, walkers and bikers come to the end of a greenway segment and must cross a busy road filled with truck traffic or train tracks, he said.
"The last thing we want, the last thing a motorist wants, is to have conflicts at grade crossings at Hwy. 52, Hwy. 3 or Cliff Road," he said, noting he has heard already about crashes.
Moving construction along is "urgent" because development is quickly occurring in many areas across the county, making the necessary safety fixes more challenging, he said.
The new trails will bring the greenway to 135 miles. County officials envision an eventual 200-mile-system. Before the decision to accelerate construction, the county did not have a set timeline for completing the network.
To fund the construction, the county will use a combination of federal and state grant money along with taxpayer dollars and special revenue funds — the county's sales and use tax fund, for instance, or its environmental legacy fund.
In some cases, cities will help pay for the greenways when they pass through their borders.
The county will use $2 million from its Environmental Legacy Fund to start the design process for the new trails next year. That will provide information on costs and the best sources of funding to pursue, Bransford said.
Trail construction also requires the ability to find a suitable route and work with landowners to acquire the property.
"[A greenway] is how you bring a park to the community, rather than expecting a community to travel to a park," Bransford said. "We're going to be touching many more people in a real way."
Mark Gilkerson, an employee at Erik's Bike Shop cq/ea in Burnsville, said he enjoys riding on the Mississippi River Greenway from Hastings to St. Paul.
He said the paved trail boasts impressive views of the Mississippi River.
"It's definitely one of the top rides," he said.
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