By GAGE WILSON
For Glasgow News 1
In an enormous undertaking across county lines, the Barren River Area Development District had a public engagement meeting at the Park City Senior Center Thursday afternoon. The meeting addressed a proposed project that would connect Bowling Green to Mammoth Cave National Park through Park City with a paved trail. The proposed trail would span around 30 miles and would run through Barren, Edmonson and Warren counties.
Given the scope of the project and the amount of land under consideration, BRADD has requested public feedback, according to regional transportation planner Ethan Bates. “While we’ve heard a lot of positive reactions to the project, we’ve also had some negative,” he said. “And that’s okay, we want to hear that too, because this is supposed to be tailored around something the community wants, and that the community can use.”
Displays were set up throughout the center showing the study area, with some maps showing off alternative routes the design may take. “I do want to emphasize we are still in very early days,” Bates said. “But we are very excited to see what this could turn into.”
“People have shown that this is something that they’re very interested in,” he explained. One concern that he noted was safety along the trail, and while no concrete example of safety was given yet, Bates said that the matter is being heavily researched.
U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie attended the meeting. He also met with new Park City Mayor Donna Scavo, left, and spoke to Barren River Area Development District staff. Gage Wilson/For Glasgow News 1
The project will be funded by a grant through the state that was awarded to BRADD because the project crosses so many governmental lines, as explained by Bates.
“One thing, when we first started out was that we wanted a paved trail,” he said. “Because we want this to be as accessible as possible while also helping with things like maintenance.”
While still only in the planning stage, the question of upkeep of the trail is being considered. “Once we get the alignments and an idea of what we’re looking for, we’re going to look at maintenance plans and implementation plans,” he said. “So it’s going to take some regional collaboration to get this built and get this developed.”
The organization began collecting data earlier this summer, utilizing surveys and public comments to best form what the proposed path the trail should ultimately adopt. “We’re working closely with a lot of people. Judge Executive Lindsey is here from Edmonson County, we’ve been talking to the Warren County Planning Commission,and Judge Byrd of Barren County is with us,” said Bates.
Currently, the trail will be bike and hike friendly, with some talk of horse riding as well. However, the trail is still malleable as the district uses events like this to maximize the path’s potential. Bates pointed out that the public is welcome to offer feedback and get information at their website here.
Comments