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Thursday, September 4, 2003

Edgewood Trail Plan Miles Long

By Kathy Louise Schuit
Mountain View Telegraph
    With 11 miles of trails mapped, members of the Edgewood Parks and Recreation Committee presented their preliminary Trails Master Plan to the town Aug. 21.
    The master plan is the result of more than two years of effort by the committee to provide Edgewood-area residents with a system of hiking, biking and equestrian trails that will one day link to Santa Fe's planned countywide trail system.
    Committee members continue to work with COLTPAC— the Santa Fe County Open Lands and Trails Planning Advisory Committee— and the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
    One big plus for the plan is 30 acres of property near Wildlife West Nature Park already owned by Santa Fe County. An agreement between county and Edgewood officials calls for development of the property into a trailhead with equestrian and rest stop facilities.
    Edgewood would provide 25 percent of the $66,425 cost of the project, said Keith Kholthusen, chairman of Edgewood Parks and Recreation's Parks, Open Space and Trails Committee.
    The town must also establish six to eight miles of master-planned trails and connect those trails to Santa Fe County lands before the county will inject its portion of funding into the project.
    The 11 miles of trails outlined on Edgewood's master plan exceed the first requirement. The second would be met through an agreement with the state highway department that allows the Edgewood trails to access county lands through an easement along N.M. 344.
    "The county's concern is they don't want to spend money on a (trailhead) facility until they can show it will benefit the county," Kholthusen said.
    Meanwhile, Phil Gallegos of the New Mexico Department of Transportation is working on a joint powers agreement with the town for highway easements along Old Route 66 and N.M. 344. The agreement is being reviewed by the state's legal department and Gallegos expects to forward it to the town within the next couple weeks.
    The current construction project at N.M. 344 and Interstate 40 is likely to give Edgewood a head start on its trails. Gallegos said sidewalks will be part of all highway department projects in the area, including the current interchange reconstruction and future improvements of N.M. 344 to Dinkle Road and the N.M. 344/Old Route 66 intersection.
    Gallegos said sidewalks may not be exactly what trail planners had in mind— especially for equestrian use— but state and federal regulations require compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
    In the meantime, the joint powers agreement would allow Edgewood to post signs along the highways indicating the presence of trails, and to use the primitive easements in a temporary arrangement until construction creates permanent trails, Gallegos said.
    The agreement would also allow Edgewood to develop and maintain trail easements along the state highways. The town would develop its own construction standard, including width and type of surface.
    The proposed trails system outlined on the master plan includes four sections of trails:
   

From the COLTPAC property east of Wildlife West east to N.M. 344, .75 miles. The preferred route along Church Road would require private easements, so Parks and Recreation is prepared to use an alternate route along the I-40 frontage road. One drawback is that the trail would then intersect N.M. 344 at the busy intersection near the I-40 on and offramps.
   

Along Edgewood Road #7, 1.5 miles. The town owns this road, which begins at Old Route 66 and runs south to the Torrance County line. The plan recommends starting design and construction on this segment immediately.
   

Old Route 66 from Barton Road east to Williams Ranch Road, 5.5 miles. The width of the existing easement and the fact that it is already used by hikers and bicyclists makes this segment one of the easiest to construct.
   

N.M. 344 north from Old Route 66 to Hill Ranch Road, 3.5 miles. The state plans to widen this section as far as Dinkle Road by 2006, so it will likely remain temporary until then. The west side of N.M. 344 is currently used as a trail, and Gallegos recommended signs designating the trail and prohibiting its use by motorized vehicles including motorcycles and ATVs.
    "It's really good that you're establishing trails now as the town's developing, making the town grow around the trails," Gallegos said.
    The next step for the trails master plan is presentation for approval at the Sept. 17 Edgewood Town Council meeting.
    Councilor Paul Hoffman, who attended the Aug. 21 meeting at which the master plan made its debut, said he approved of the plan.
    "Build it— be done with it," he said.