HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 12-15 Gateway Trail to be plowed by DNR after all PIONEER PRESS 12/17/2015 Gateway Trail to be plowed by DNR after all-TwinCities.com
Gateway Trail to be plowed by DNR after all
Updafed:1?/15�2015 07'S8:ifi PM CST TwinCities.com
Reversing a decision that outraged local bicycle commuters,the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday that it will plow the Gateway State Trail this winter.
Erika Rivers,director of the DNR's parks and trails division,said the agency changed its mind after meeting with state legislators and local offcials late last week and Monday.
"We decided that there had been enough public interest in having the trails plowed in some way,shape or form that...we needed to find a way to get this trail plowed,"Rivers said.
The DNR announced this month that it would no longer plow a 12-mile sVetch of the popular 1�mile Gateway State Trail linking St.Paul to northern Washington County.
The department also said it wouldn't groom a pack ski trails on the f nal six miles of the trail--from Jamaca Avenue in Grant to Pine Point Regional Park in Stillwater Township--or the Brown's
Creek State Trai I,which links the Gateway to downtown Stil Iwater.
The move was expected to save the DNR about$10,000 each winter,Rivers said.The decision was based on historic use patterns and availability of similar services in the area,she said.
"W hat changed was that there was a lot of local concern,especially about the public safety of riders and comm uters to get into the cities from rrorthern W ashington County,"Rivers said.
"We're trying to recognize and trying to help with local commuting and local routes to school,which was an expressed concern by constituents who use that trail locally.
Rivers said the DNR would work with the communities along the trail to find a more longterm sustainable plan.
"We're still looking for a solution as to what is the best way to actually plow(the trail),"she said.
"We think it would be to contract or work with local units of government that have plows on the road,roads that are very immediately adjacent to this trail--thaYs ultimately our preferred solution."
Rivers also said the DNR had hoped to have time to inform local officials abou[the no-plow decision,but a Nov.30 snowfall derailed those plans.
"The timing of snowfal I compressed the process.W e would have initiated the process differently,"she said."Fw sure,the D N R regrets that we didn't have the opportunily to engage stakeholders,
especially our partners in local units of government along that trail corridor,before we had to implement changes.
"So we re playing catch-up right now and gang back and talking with them and,frankly,they are very cdlegial in their willingness to talk to us about alternative strategies into the future,too."
State Sen.Chuck Wiger,DFL-Maplewood,said he was glad the trail--"the busiest in the state'--would continue to be plowed this winter.
"I'm pleased to see that we've been able to work together to f nd a temporary solution so residents can enjoy the Gateway Trail as usual this winter;'W iger said.
"I look forward to working with the DNR in establishing a longterm solution."
Jce Mansky,who regularly commutes along the Gateway to his job in St.Paul from his home in Oakdale,praised the DNR's reversal.
He acknowledged that as part of the state park system,a primary use of the trai I is for recreation.But,he said,it's a Vansportalion artery,too.
"I think iPs the right decision;'said Mansky,the elections manager in Ramsey County.
Mary Divine can be reached at 651-22&5443.Foilow her at twitter.com/MaryEDivine.