HOROSCOPE

MPO highlights regional park development

Luker outlines plans, funding for project

news@theeveningtimes.com The Delta River Regional Park and more trail funding highlighted West Memphis City Planner Paul Luker’s report to the Metropolitan Planning Organization joint technical and policy committee meeting on January 14. The planning group awards transportation alternative funds. The next day Luker asked the West Memphis Advertising and Promotion Commission for funds to complete another aspect of the trail project in the riverside park.

The park is a bike and pedestrian loop on the unprotected side of the levee from the Harahan Bridge landing at the end Big River Crossing (BRX) to just north of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. The park will offer riverside views of Memphis and farm land and Natural State wetland habitat along the six mile circuit.

The construction contract allowed for 100 work days and was awarded in the late fall. The winter season wet prevented substantial progress on the project and Luker expressed hopes to the MPO for a spring time finish on the trail.

“The weather hasn’t been good enough to get out there to get going and completed,” said Luker. “Hopefully we’ll be going in the short future.” Luker landed more funding for the city trail projects. The MPO awarded the money with a unanimous vote after hearing Luker present an overview.

“We saw the transportation alternative project money as a chance to enhance the trail project we’ve been working on,” said Luker.

The city now had banked $128,000 with the previous year of transportation alternative funding. Luker justified rolling the money forward and asked for another allotment. The new funds go toward a multipurpose plan on the trail.

“It’s hard to do any job with just $64,000,” said Luker. “These funds will be used to enhance the users experience.”

Luker lined out four uses for the funding.

First improving the rock parking with asphalt at the trail head close to the BRX landing. Second big stones recently removed during the Frisco bridge rehab work will be re-purposed along the trail.

The two ton stones measure six by three by two and became available during the rehabilitation of the 125 year old Frisco train bridge. A private donor bought the stones and donated them to the city for use in the river

side trail park. “One of our private partners

acquired some of the

stones used for the old BNSF bridge with the idea that they could be used to construct features in the park,” said Luker. “Initially we’d like to use them for benches and tail markers.

We need a permanent location for portable potties.

The stones would be used for screening around portable potties. The last use is for the rocks is directional signing along the trail, signs for hours of operation as well as code of conduct signs.”

The next day Luker and planning and development department administrators appeared hat in hand to ask the A& P for the funds to go all the way with the listed side projects for the river park trail. The $32,000 request for additional funds was approved bringing the total available trail enhancement funds to $160,000.

By John Rech