Old Man’s Creek Trail offered as example of success

WILLIAMSBURG — The East Central Iowa Council of Governments featured the Williamsburg trail project during its Local Government Recharge Day at Fireside Winery last week.

Laura Sauser, Iowa County Community Development director, talked about the trail project during the session called Connecting Your Community: Trails and Sidewalks.

Active transportation

One of the purposes of ECICOG is to help governments in Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington Counties find resources to advance their communities.

During an informational meeting at Fireside Winery, Mary Rump, ECICOG transportation director, explained the Active Transportation Plan of the Regional Planning Affiliation 10 which focuses on the non-automobile transportation network, including bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Active transportation is any physically active form of travel, including walking, bicycling, using scooters and wheelchairs. It uses sidewalks, shared roadways and trails.

The plan is meant to provide a framework for future investments in trails and improve connectivity to local destinations and safety and accessibility for users.

An active transportation network is comprised of a variety of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, said Rump. Multi-use trails are physically separated from vehicular traffic. They can be used by bicyclists, pedestrians, and other non-motorized users.

These trails can be built within their own right of way or within the existing road right of way.

Single use trails are focused on recreation. They are used for hiking, mountain biking, nature viewing and equestrian activities.

These trails are typically unpaved, narrower, and steeper, said Rump. They may also require a higher level of physical ability. Due to the recreational nature of single use trails, they are not a focus of this plan.

Sidewalks provide walking connections and are probably the most common and most used part of the pedestrian network, said Rump. Unlike other identified facilities, they are typically owned and maintained by private property owners.

Many streets with low traffic volumes and speeds don’t require safety improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians, said Rump. The roadway can function effectively for vehicle traffic and bicyclists and pedestrians.

Shared roadways are appropriate on roadways with less than 1,000 vehicles per day and speeds limits of 25 miles per hour or less, according to the Active Transportation Plan.

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Bicyclists share the road with vehicular traffic on on-road facilities. Street designs might include elements to protect the bicyclist or pedestrian.

On road facilities are appropriate for roadways with 6,000 vehicles or less and speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less.

A survey conducted by RPA in 2023 found that 44% of the 420 who responded walk all year around and 51% said they would walk more if sidewalk conditions were improved. Fifty-one percent said they bike to parks and recreation areas and 48% said they would bike more if separate bike and vehicle lanes were provided.

The Active Transportation Plan has goal setting and strategy tools and resources that can help cities estimate how much money they’ll need to create trails, said Rump. The tool can give cities numbers with which to develop a plan, but the numbers should not be used for grant applications, she said.

The State Recreation Trails program through the Iowa Department of Transportation has a different amount of money available every year, sometimes nothing and sometimes millions, said Rump. It’s approved by the legislature each year and requires a 25% match.

The Transportation Alternatives, or TAP, gives federal funds to state. Iowa gets about $5 million a year, and the region about $400,000, said Rump. The program has a 20% match.

Though the No Safe Routs to Schools program no longer exists, towns that want to improve routes can use TAP funds, said Rump.

Williamsburg Trail

Rump offered the Old Man’s Creek Trail project in Williamsburg as a case study for a small town trail project.

Williamsburg is the largest city in Iowa County, said Sauser. It had no trail before 2023. Planning began more than a decade ago, but “It really got sparked about five years ago,” she said.

A local organization dissolved after not having met in years and donated its money to the city in 2021 to help build a trail. Phase I was completed in the fall of 2023.

The trail runs along the eastern boundary of the recreation complex south of town. The first phase stopped at East State Street near Circle J Grain elevators.

It’s a straight line, about ¾ mile, said Sauser. At one end is a ball field. At the other end, cornfields.

The trail is hard surface, said Sauser, and very expensive.

Sauser called Phase 2 “the exciting part.” The trail will run north along the east side of town to the Highland Ridge senior living facility that Sauser called “the castle on the hill.”

The trail extension will connect the community with more than 200 residents at Highland Ridge. Walkers, bicyclists, children, adults and seniors will all meet on the hard-surface trail.

Phase 2 will be 0.9 miles and will cost about $750,000, said Sauser. The city received a $510,000 RPA TAP grant, “a huge boost to those projects,” said Sauser.

The city will provide a match of $57,000.

Williamsburg is looking for additional grants and working with local businesses in the community for funding.

The project is expected to begin next summer, Sauser said.

Planning a trail

Rump said cities should plan ahead and seek input from residents before deciding where to put a trail. “You may think you know what they want,” Rump said. “They know where they want to walk.”

Look for low-cost options, Rump said. A mile of trail can cost more than a million dollars, Rump said.

Look for multiple funding sources. When applying for a grants, get accurate cost estimates and work with an engineer, Rump said. If a cost estimate is not accurate, the city may have to pay more out of its own pocket, said Rump.

Build it phases, said Rump. Breaking a project into segments works out better.