8.1 SR 10-18-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Optimize Connectivity with Recreational Resources Elk River has 16 miles of paved recreational trails in the community. These types of paths are ideal for all types of active recreation including bicycling, jogging, in -line skating, cross-country skiing, walking, etc. The city's hard surface trails can run in a closed loop, such as those within Lion John Weicht Park, or be more linear like the one running parallel to Twin Lakes Road. The community also maintains 25 miles of natural surface hiking trails within its park systems. The Elk River Trails Master Plan, adopted in 2018, provides guidance to elected officials, Parks and Recreation Commission, and city staff in the big picture decision -making, such as allocating resources for mainte- nance or building a trail, that will impact the system. The city's trails boast linkages to larger regional and national systems. The Great Northern Trail is a north - south route that meanders 4.75-miles through the city primarily along a former railroad right-of-way. It relies on this dedicated off-street path and to a lesser degree, an informal sidewalk system to traverse the community. Offering stunning viewsheds of natural amenities such as Woodland Trails Regional Park. The trail begins at CSAH 1 in downtown Elk River and terminates at Liori s Park in Zimmerman. The Mississippi River Tail (MRT) is designated through Elk River as well. As an east -west corridor running through the city, the larger MRT network connects Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota to the Gulf Coast in Louisiana. Within Elk River, the nationally recognized bicycle and pedestrian trail follows a combination of trails and local roads in the southeast corner before crossing over Highway 169 and Highway 10 on Main Street. The trail then exits downtown by crossing the river into Otsego on the CSAH 42 bridge. As efforts to bring more pedestrian and bicycle space to current and future road corridors continues, the city should look for ways to fully leverage recreational trails as well. Implementation of the Trails Master Plan will be key in closing gaps between recreational resources in the community. Connections between the more functional- ly -oriented street network and the recreational system will encourage more use of both systems and maximize the benefits derived from construction and maintenance costs for multimodal facilities. There are many opportuni- ties for funding trail projects at both the state and federal level, more discussion on how Elk River can support trail projects in the city is included in the Parks, Open Spaces and Natural Resources Plan chapter. Elk River Comprehensive Plan • Transportation & Mobility Plan D7[L\arr0]C11[1:0IMAM9701wo V%]