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| Lewis & Clark County Commissioner Andy Hunthausen and Grants Coordinator Laura Erickson displaying the easement May 29th, 2015! |
Great news! Yesterday, May 29th, Lewis & Clark County was granted
a permanent easement to allow an accessible bike and pedestrian trail along a
former rail spur to connect Centennial Park to Spring
Meadow State Park and the Montana Wild Center. Further, the trail will provide
safe, healthy travel for Helena area residents of all ages for getting to work,
school, or just getting outside for fun along a trail across Helena that is largely separated from roadways.
Many thanks are in order,
especially to the private property owners who worked with the County and have granted a permanent public easement across their properties on both sides of Joslyn. Other thanks are listed is this post entitled "Centennial Trail West to be Build this Summer!" Photos of Centennial Trail East posted here. More photos and comments related to the trail follow.
Centennial Trail is being funded by Community Transportation Enhancement Funds (CTEP), a federal program that was replaced by other allocation a few years ago. These funds were saved and dedicated by the City of Helena and Lewis & Clark County over several years and will need to be expended this summer.
Sincerely,
Matt E
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| Looking East along the easement from Country Club that will connect to Joslyn Street and other section of Centennial Trail. |
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| Centennial Trail East providing a safe, accessible alternative to the dirt road connecting Boulder to Billings via the Freeway underpass. More photos here. |
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| Centennial Trail around the City of Helena Transfer Station still needs improvement. |
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| A bridge is needed at Henderson to safely connect the trail across a busy street with limited sight lines. A sidewalk to Broadwater Estates and a stairway to the existing trail on the other side should be installed as part of getting kids safely to school. Funds from the a tax settlement and "Urban Funds" should be used to construct the bridge. |
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| This ramp on the end of Front Street provides a connection from Downtown to the Centennial Trail Network! |
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| Click here for more details of this project. A notable difference is that the trail will now directly connect the two arrows above. Rapid flashing beacon, activated by users of the trail will warn motorized traffic of persons crossing Country Club and Josyln. |
