Laserfiche WebLink
The district also requires cities to repair trail surface damage done during the winter <br />So far officials along the 13 -mile Dakota Rail Trail, which has quickly become one of the <br />most popular in the state, have decided not to take on these responsibilities. <br />"We don't do any trails in terms of snow removal for winter maintenance —we don't <br />have the resources to do that," said David Abel, assistant planner for Minnetrista, home <br />to 2 to 3 miles of the paved trail. <br />Mound, at the midway point of the Dakota Rail Trail, is in the process of putting in a <br />bathroom for users of the trail but won't plow it this winter. <br />City Public Works Superintendent Jim Fackler said the permit required "is pretty <br />specific about how everything needed to be done, and they [council members] were not <br />comfortable with that." <br />Without plowing, the trail is typically snow-covered, but people may walk or ski on it <br />anyway, Fackler said. <br />Neighboring Spring Park and Minnetonka Beach also will let their segments of the <br />Dakota Rail Trail close for the winter. <br />` VVe discuss it every year," said Spring Park utility superintendent DJ Goman . "We do <br />not do the snow removal, ice removal any of that." <br />Minnetonka Beach considers care of the trail "too much maintenance," said city <br />Administrator Suzanne Griffin. <br />In cities where trails are not plowed, Three Rivers posts warnings that they won't be <br />maintained but does not bar people from using them, Walz said. <br />Come spring, "we take the trails back." <br />Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711 <br />