Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2022 12 14

Home Browse Search

3. The town of Superior recently rebuilt their adjacent section of the CCT between US 36 and McCaslin Blvd to a network of concrete paths and have drastically altered the user experience there. We should not do the same. 4. Paving this half mile of trail does not solve any existing or plausible future maintenance issues. Unlike other short sections of the CCT which are being paved to prevent future erosion damage, this stretch of trail does not suffer from erosion or washouts from flood events. City staff is also not aware of any safety issues related to that section of trail that would be addressed by moving from a gravel to concrete surface. 5. This is not an OSAB priority in any way. It has never appeared in any list of future projects and does not appear in the 2019 City of Louisville Transportation Master Plan. OSAB has several high -priority items relating to the city's trail system which would be a much better use of the allotted funding than an unnecessary paving project here. Indeed, the monies required for this paving project would more than fund OSAB's #1 priority project, the wayfinding proposal (replacing and upgrading the city's open space and parks signage and trail maps) several times over (the current estimate for the wayfinding project is about $300,000). 6. Concrete cues trail users that this is sidewalk, not a trail. Citizens already struggle in following the Coal Creek Trail when it leaves the creek corridor and goes into the neighborhoods. Keeping it soft surface will help people recognize it as a trail. This is a part of wayfinding. 7. ADA compliance was cited as a potential reason for paving this section, but this is a misinterpretation of the regulations. ADA rules govern grade, width, and lack of obstacles on the trail, but not the surface type. Numerous other soft -surface ADA- compliant trails exist in the city. 8. This paving project appears to be a remnant of the unfunded 2020 underpasses and transit improvement initiative. This initiative called for, among other things, an underpass under Dillon Road to connect the Powerline Trail to the CCT. With the rest of the underpasses project removed from the budget, it doesn't make sense to keep this one paving project. 9. Finally, we feel strongly that the Open Space Advisory Board should have a chance to advise on any major open space and trails user experience changes such as this before they are budgeted and scheduled Next Steps: OSAB is strongly recommending to city council that the US 36 to Dillon road paving of the Coal Creek Trail be removed from consideration for future City of Louisville budgets. In turn, we would like to work with city council to determine the best use of limited parks and open space funds earmarked for trails so that we can focus on work that benefits the community the most. 15