Town seeks $390K WYDOT grant to connect new walking & bike areas to existing paths

Ethan Brogan photo
The walking and bike paths next to Glenrock High School remain cool into the later hours of the evening June 26. The Transportation Alternatives Program grant the town is seeking would add more pathways around town for a total price tag of approximately $488,000.

By: 
Ethan Brogan ethan@glenrockind.com

When school is over and the summer begins, droves of youngsters and their parents spend hours walking along the paths made possible by the Town of Glenrock. This year, the town is seeking a $390,984 Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the Wyoming Department of Transportation for additional walking and bike paths.
The proposal, which was ratified at the June 25 council meeting, asks WYDOT to pay for 80 percent of the expected costs from the new path. The remaining 20 percent, approximately $97,723 would be paid by the town. So far, Converse County Commissioners have agreed to add $25,000 to Glenrock’s cause, meaning the town’s portion would come out to approximately $72,000.
“We have some pretty significant momentum regionally and from the state with regards to these trails. . . this gives us the opportunity to get some nice support for our trails,” Mayor Doug Frank said.
Last year, the town submitted a proposal of three phases outlining paths from Colt Street to Grant Elementary School, from Third Street to Ninth Street and from the HWY 20/26 crossing to include trailhead improvements.
“Last year Kasey (Drummond) applied for the TAP grant and tried to extend the pathway on both ends,” Town Clerk Tammy Taylor said at the council meeting.
The previous TAP grant proposal was for approximately $820,000, broken up into three phases.
“It was going to go up all the way up through the Rock in the Glen. . . and WYDOT said ‘we don’t have that kind of money. We can’t do that,’” Public Works Director Randy Rumpler said of last year’s proposal. “We’re just going to go from Colt (Street) to the school and then from Third to Ninth (Street) to finish the walk path.”
Instead, the town will focus on phase one. The plan will utilize the old railroad alignment from Colt Street to Grant Elementary School and from Third to Ninth Street to create a walking pathway for a total of 2.15 miles, according to the grant proposal. The new grant would fund items previously installed onto other pathways such as benches, trash cans, lighting and trees with hopes to add drinking fountains and exercise equipment. The phase one cost estimate comes in at approximately $355,000 including proposed asphalt for $100,000, a trail head for $14,750, a solar powered pedestrian crosswalk for $72,000 and trees for $30,000, among other ideas. These estimates are rough, because an official report detailing the cost and items has not been released yet, and the town is working on from last year’s proposal.
Another section of phase one would extend the existing pathway from Third to Ninth Street, the portion would be located in alleyways in the old railroad easement, crossing three streets. At street crossings, the plan calls for American Disabilities Act accessible ramps, crosswalks and bollards as necessary, according to the proposal. Among the pathway, trees and lighting is an earmarked fund for exercise equipment.
Since downsizing the project, the town feels WYDOT will give the funds this year.
“We met with WYDOT and they are pretty much guaranteeing this grant,” Rumpler said during the council meeting.
If the grant request is approved, the town will have two years to implement the funds. If the town receives the TAP grant, construction would begin in spring of 2019.

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