By Lisa Loomis
The Mad River Valley Active Transportation Plan has received state funding. The plan is a collaboration of the Mad River Valley Planning District on behalf of its member towns, Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston, as well as the town of Moretown, Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce and Mad River Valley Rotary.
The funding comes from the state's Strong Communities Better Connections Program, coupled with the local match funding pledged by the Rotary Club, chamber of commerce, and the towns of Fayston, Waitsfield, Warren and Moretown. The grant amount is $67,500 with a local match of $7,500. The local match is coming from local towns and organizations. Warren, Waitsfield, Fayston and Moretown are contributing $1,000 each as is the chamber of commerce. The local Rotary Club is contributing $2,500.
The project will utilize a public involvement process to articulate a unified, watershed-wide vision for recreational trails and nonmotorized transportation facilities, how they integrate with economic development, enhance visitor experiences and enhance residents' quality of life and transportation choices.
The grant application laid out the reasoning behind a Valley and watershed-wide initiative to come up with a unified vision for recreational trails and nonmotorized transportation offerings. It noted that recreation has been identified as one of four major components of the area's local economy. Trail use by hikers and mountain bikers is seen as having significant potential for future economic growth as a strong complement to skiing. A survey conducted as part of a 2014 economic study found 98 percent of Valley residents strongly agree that the nonwinter tourism-recreation sector of the economy has growth opportunity.
As the application explained, there is no unified, Valley-wide vision or plan for the development, routing and maintenance of trails and other nonmotorized facilities. Without a plan the separate municipalities, nonprofit organizations and others are left to guess at priorities or prioritize in a more narrow and parochial fashion. Sometimes, when projects are implemented, they can seem haphazard to some, even though, in some cases, those projects are actually part of a larger vision held by one stakeholder, which others in the community may not, necessarily, share or understand.
Mad River Valley Planning District director Joshua Schwartz will serve as project manager. Next month a steering committee will be formed and a request for proposals created with an eye to selecting a consultant next March. The work will start with an inventory of existing trails, paths, bike lanes and sidewalks as well as parking and other infrastructure that supports them. Public facilities, commercial facilities, recreational facilities and swimholes will be inventoried as well. Federal, state and municipal land and land mandated for public use will be cataloged.
The inventory and public outreach will result in recommendations aimed at linking existing and future trail networks, ensuring that trail networks are flood resilient, linking Valley trail networks to those outside The Valley, making sure that plans for trails and recreational opportunities can be integrated into existing Valley and town initiatives and improving public spaces to improve access to trails and nonmotorized recreational facilities. Included will be recommendations for signage, attention to ability level, standardized trail construction and a plan for the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the facilities.
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