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The path to a regional Spokane County trails system is getting shorter all the time.
The plan, unanimously approved by the county Planning Commission after a Feb. 28 public hearing, is a multiagency collaborative effort to develop a network of interconnecting trails throughout the area. County commissioners will be asked to give their blessing to the plan sometime next month.
On Monday, John Bottelli, county parks special project manager, gave a briefing to the Boundary Review Board on the trails plan, saying the document has been in the works for the past four years.
“It’s a giant project,” he said. “There’s been a tremendous amount of work done.”
Along with the county, the Inland Northwest Trails Coalition and the National Park Service’s Rivers and Trails program have been key partners in developing the plan, which seeks to not only bolster outdoor recreation opportunities in the area but also serve as an safe, alterative transportation source.
“There are bike lanes on Division and Ruby,” Bottelli told the board. “I’m not sure I want to use them.”
Bottelli described the plan as an “umbrella document” that helps to identify potential trail sites and develop ways to connect existing trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Some of the possibilities include:
- creating arterial trail system that connects parks and open spaces
- connecting neighborhood trail networks (such as in Liberty Lake) to the regional trail system (like the Centennial Trail)
- linking colleges and universities to one another
Funding, of course, remains an issue, Bottelli said, and though there are grant possibilities at the state and federal level. He emphasized, however, that the county would not force towns to participate or dedicate funding.
“We’re not directing what jurisdictions should do and when,” he said.
He also said emphasized that private property wouldn’t be targeted through eminent domain or condemnation-type land takings.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to have a trail all the way to Mount Spokane?” he theorized. “But there’s private property to consider.”
Bottelli added the trails support healthy, active living while helping to decrease pollution, energy consumption and traffic congestion.
Studies published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine have shown that inactivity has caused an epidemic of obesity in America, and those who use community trails at least once a week are twice as likely to meeting daily exercise recommendations than those who rarely or never use trails.
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By
Mike Huffman
