2011 Update

Welcome to 2011! Sorry for the extended silence, but the winter was hectic and there hasn’t been much to report on our Rail Trail effort.

The small amount of news I have to share is that the City has chosen Lose & Associates (www.loseassoc.com) to “look for the cost associated with the implementation of the first phase which would be from Westside Park to the Pardue Lane Park,”. There has been no date set for a presentation, but we know the study needs to be completed in this fiscal year (by June 30th).

I’ve been told there will be Public Hearings held (no dates yet). “Public comments will be incorporated into the design for a cost determination.” That comment gives me pause.

The federal, state and local economies are all struggling and this project is not considered a vital necessity, so we’re going to have to be creative in our thinking and fund raising. As I’ve mentioned before, the first phase will have a higher cost than the balance of the route because of the need for a bridge over Cox Mill Road. We’re going to need lots of help for that.

Over the next few weeks, please think about how we might address these cost concerns before we start having public hearings.

I don’t know who the specific contact is at Lose & Associates for this project, but if you’d like to offer suggestions or comments, I’m sure they would appreciate it.

Hopefully we’ll have more to report in the next few weeks. I’m more than ready for some good weather!

Thanks for your interest and we’ll talk soon!

Kim Schippers

August Update

Rail Trail Supporters,

I know this has been a long, slow process and I appreciate everyone’s patience. Here are just a couple of updates.

We’ve got the master plan concept posted to the website: http://www.hoptownrailtrail.org through the great assistance of Dan Stahl (two cheers for Dan!) Please check it out and use it as a reference if you need to show someone the route.

Darren Henson, Landscape Architect, has done a great job of helping us create the vision of the trail. I’ve got his first installment payment ready to go. For those of you who volunteered financial support – thank you. Of course there’s still plenty of opportunities to give a tax-deductive donation to the Pennyrile Rail Trail Foundation – which would be appreciated.

I do have the blog started: http://hoptownrailtrailblog.wordpress.com/ and appreciate the many comments. I’m hoping to move some of these emails to that format to reach more people in the community. (As you can see!)

We’ve talked about letters of support to city council members. Attached is a sample for you to use – Please personalize it to your points of interest. (It’s under the Media Tab).

Our city council members need to hear from all of us – please make an effort to contact them…and contact them… and contact them.

Finally, this year will be the 8th Annual Turkey Trot held on Thanksgiving Day at Founder’s Square at 8:00 a.m. Go ahead and mark it down – make sure your friends and family who might be visiting bring their walking/running shoes to share in the fun!

Thanks!

Kim

Keep ‘em Coming!

There are so many good stories that still need to be told on rail trails being converted. I hope that we’ll keep getting more. This has the opportunity to really alter the perception of our community and we all need to keep spreading the word.
I’ve heard that there have been some negastive comments posted on other community blogs and hope that if the opportunity presents itself you can help dispell any myths or perceptions that pop up on that site.

I’m sure that the initial cost estimate is scaring some, but that was based on the complete route without any donations or grants involved. We, as members of the Rail Trail Foundation, have to keep pushing for approval of the concept an be ready for years of volunteer support to keep it strong.

Keep it coming!

Kim

Hello world!

This is our first attempt at creating a blog for our Hoptown Rail Trail. I would appreciate any positive and thougtful comments you might have.

Thanks.