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� StarTribune
<br />Winter trail plowing may become a parks
<br />priority
<br />Article by. LAURIE BLAKE
<br />Sler Tribune
<br />September 4, 2011 - 616 AM
<br />How many people use the west metro regional trails to walk, bike, ski or run during the winter?
<br />Three Rivers Park District, which is based in the suburbs of Hennepin County, decided last week to study the demand for Its
<br />10 regional trails this winter as it reconsiders its 20 -year policy of letting trails fill with snow unless cities step up to maintain
<br />them.
<br />Some cities have begun to chafe at the cost and responsibility of clearing segments of the regional trails and they question
<br />why Three Rivers doesn't maintain them itself year-round. Without agreeing to make a change, park district board members
<br />said they will look into it.
<br />"I think we should at least look at what the cost would be and whether we have the resources to do it," said Board Member
<br />Barbara Derus Kinsey.
<br />Since the mid-1990s, when the first regional trails were opened in Hennepin County, the west suburban park district has
<br />malntained the trails between March 31 and Nov 15 but has never gone to the expense of keeping them free of snow and ice
<br />during the winter.
<br />Because residents in many communities want to use the trails for winter walking, biking, running and skling, about 16 cities --
<br />including Minnetonka, Excelsior, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center— each year have agreed to add the trails
<br />10 city plowing routes.
<br />In that fashion, about 55 miles of the 130 -mile regional trail system are maintained in the winter That patchwork approach
<br />creates uneven access and can make it difficult for winter bikers to use them for commuting.
<br />Cities ask why
<br />Over the past couple of years as Three Rivers has worked with cities to plan new regional trails officials from Robbinsdale,
<br />Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Now Hope, Richfield, Bloomington, Edina, Minneapolis, Spring Park and Golden
<br />Valley have questioned the district's practice of not maintaining the trails in the winter, said associate superintendent Margie
<br />Dahlof.
<br />The popular Dakota Rail Regional Trail from Wayzata to St. Boniiacius is not plowed by any of the cities along its 13 miles in
<br />Hennepin County. The Lake Independence Regional Trail from Orono to Corcoran is likewise left to the elements, with signs
<br />alerting people to use it at their own risk. Golden Valley also leaves its segment of the Luce Line Trail unplowed.
<br />"It's not our trail, and we don't want to pay for the cost and liability," of winter maintenance, said Carlton Moore, public works
<br />director for Mound, which is on the Dakota Rail Trail. Clearing it for winter is "up to Three Rivers," but, he said, even left to the
<br />elements the trail is used for skiing, snowshoeing and walking.
<br />St. Bo illacius declines to plow its segment of the Dakota Rail Trail because snowmobiles would use it and damage it and
<br />then the city would be liable for the damage, said Mayor Rick Weible,
<br />if Three Rivers wanted to keep it dear, pick up the garbage and patrol it, "I would be supportive of it," Welble said.
<br />Golden Valley has asked Three Rivers to maintain the 4,8 miles of Luce Line trail through that city.
<br />"We have heard from people who would like to see those trails maintained and be usable year around, and so we forward
<br />that on to Three Rivers," said Golden Valley Mayor Linda Loomis. The city maintains 43 miles of city trails and sidewalks and
<br />has neither the money nor the staff to maintain the regional trail, too, Loomis said.
<br />Trails have changed
<br />Questions about the policy will continue until Three Rivers re -addresses it because "regional traits are something different
<br />than they were 20 years ago," when the winter policy was set, said park board chairman Larry Blackstad. Use of the trails has
<br />increased and people have a higher expectation for their maintenance, he said. "The regional trails are a regional benefit. We
<br />can't segregate them to individual communities any longer."
<br />Research this winter will be necessary to sed what kind of use is being made of the trails, where use is heaviest and how
<br />much the cities spend on maintaining them, he said.
<br />Many board members are worried about taking on the extra cost.
<br />"We definitely want to encourage winter activity," but at this point budget control is the top priority, said Board Member Sara
<br />Wyatt.
<br />Board Member Joan Peters said: "I don't know if the park district can take on one more thing. I am very concerned about our
<br />money"
<br />Board Member Pale Woodbeck cautioned that it might be difficult for the park district to live up to high standards for quick
<br />snow removal set by individual cities that have done the plowing.
<br />Laurie Blake - 612-673-1711
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