Johnston trail will connect to miles of DM-area system

Posted Mar 30, 2007
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The Trestle to Trestle project, a 3.4-mile paved path to link with the Inter-Urban trail, could be ready by midsummer.

By JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS REGISTER STAFF WRITER March 30, 2007 Local outdoor enthusiasts have big expectations for a short stretch of recreational trail to be completed in Johnston this year. Johnston Parks Superintendent Ron Ward said work will begin this spring on the Trestle to Trestle trail, a 3.4-mile paved path from Johnston to just south of Euclid Avenue in Des Moines. Less than one-fourth mile of the trail falls within the city limits, Ward said, but that small portion will be a major link for trail users in the Johnston area. City officials are paying $50,000 toward the $1.3 million Polk County project, which will connect Johnston with the Inter-Urban Trail. The Inter-Urban trail crosses a trestle bridge over the Des Moines River and connects with the Neil Smith Trail, which runs from Big Creek State Park to downtown Des Moines along the Des Moines River. The Johnston portion of the trail will cross an old train trestle that spans Beaver Creek and run under Interstate Highway 35/80 before heading south. The trail could be completed by midsummer, county officials said. Jack Davis, owner of Irwin's Bike and Sports in Johnston, said he and other bicycling enthusiasts have been counting the days to when the trail will open. "Getting that done is a huge deal for Johnston because it links to so many other trails," he said. "Right now if a person wants to ride to the farmers market in downtown Des Moines on Saturday mornings, they have to get out on Northwest Beaver Avenue and ride to Sycamore and hit the trail. That's a very busy street." Davis said that every Wednesday when the weather is nice, he closes up shop early, and people, sometimes as many as 70, gather for a bike ride. "We break up into groups by ability," he said. "One group of beginners usually starts near the shop for a leisurely ride and the racers hit the road for a 40-plus-mile ride. Having this trail finished will mean the middle group, who can ride well but aren't racers, can get on the trail and do a 15- to 20-mile ride. They will be able to hit the trail right out our back door." Polk County Engineer Kurt Bailey said the Trestle to Trestle trail project will start as weather conditions and water levels allow. In addition to Johnston and Polk County, Des Moines and the Polk County Conservation Board are providing money. The cost is rounded out with federal and state grants, Bailey said. Because Polk County is in charge of the Trestle to Trestle trails project, Johnston leaders are not overseeing any of the construction or handling the contracts. Johnston officials are, however, planning their own trail and parks work for this summer. City projects include trail work within one neighborhood park, and the addition of two new playgrounds as well as work on parking lots. Ward does not anticipate that any work will be done at Terra Lake Park, which has been the subject of discussion between residents and city officials. They are working on coming to terms on what type of park development should be done at Terra Lake, he said. "Even if we come to some agreement on how to develop the park, it won't happen this summer," Ward said. Pointe Vista and Adam Ridge parks, both small neighborhood parks, will have amenities added, mostly in late summer, he said. A driveway and parking lot will be constructed at Adam Ridge, a park located along Windsor Parkway just west of 100th Street, beginning this spring, Ward said. That project will cost about $85,000. Sometime after July, a playground designed for grade-school children will be added to the park, Ward said. Last year, a preschool playground was constructed at Adam Ridge Park. In addition, Ward wants to expand the trail that goes through the park to loop around both rectangular-shaped areas of the park, in a kind of figure eight. The trails and playground work at Adams Ridge will total $130,000, Ward said. Similar work will be done at Pointe Vista on Enfield Drive, where a playground for school-aged children will be added. This park already has a preschool playground. Plans are to add benches and picnic tables as well as more landscaping to Pointe Vista Park. The benches and tables will cost about $8,000. The playground equipment and additional landscape plants will cost $75,000. A parking lot will be resurfaced at Creekside Park, located on Northwest 54th Street, at a cost of $300,000. That work will most likely take place in the fall. Creekside is a 55-acre park adjacent to Beaver Creek that includes soccer fields and is home to the Johnston Little League and Johnston softball fields. Reporter Juli Probasco-Sowers can be reached at (515) 284-8134 or jprobasco@dmreg.com