Thanks, again, for the info and the heads up. What a conundrum.
From: Ella Belling <ella@montrails.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 1:14 PM
To: (John)Drew Gatlin <jgatlin@morgantownwv.gov>
Cc: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@gmail.com>; Christiaan Abildso via Bikeboard <bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com>; Damien Davis <ddavis@morgantownwv.gov>
Subject: Re: Rec Trail Grants- letter of support
Property owner thinks that trail users will use his property to park their cars to then get on the trail and not spend money in the businesses. He is against it becoming a trail parking lot. Those in negotiations with him have repeatedly
said that there are many other trailheads nearby with much easier trail access but he is not convinced. I have heard that several of the business managers in the shopping area think it will increase their business but he is not convinced.
Interestingly in Fairmont there is the complete opposite problem- There is a shopping area over a mile from the trail that the owner wants us to have posted trail parking signs and list them as a trailhead.
I also am concerned about the DOH ADA requirements and hope we can have some discussion with engineers on getting waivers / exceptions to the rule. Ella
Ella Belling
Executive Director
Mon River Trails Conservancy
P.O. Box 282
Morgantown, WV 26507
http://montrails.org
304-692-6782
Thanks for the heads up on these projects, Ella! Sorry to hear about those complications with the Rivers Landing trail… I thought we had made some headway with this property owner at one point?
I’ve been thinking about a bike/ped route from the neighborhood above Rivers Landing into the shopping area, do you know if they are carte-blanche against bike/ped access to their properties?
I wanted to send you an update on grants I am submitting for this year’s round of Recreational Trail Grants. If interested in writing a letter of support for any or all of these- I can send you a draft. I would need by the end of this
week if possible. Ella
Under Mon River Trails Conservancy
1) purchase of maintenance equipment,
2) Mon River Trail resurfacing (Little Falls to Opekiska),
3) Deckers Creek Trail Undercut restoration (additional funds for repair just up from Krogers), and
4) Deckers Creek Trail repaving (1/2 mile from Greenbag Road intersection up past Kroger).
Engineering Design only- Forest Avenue Landslide on Deckers Creek Trail (in mile one)
Additional funds for the Caperton Trail and Rivers Landing Connector Trail
This project is having a hard time meeting ADA requirements that the DOH is imposing on it. Plus the landowner (one of the Gabriel Brothers owners) is holding fast to not having it go on any of the Rivers Landing property (this is the
location of CVS, Aldi’s, and Golden Corral). This means the entire project will be on DOH right of way under the Star City bridge and rail-trail property as it gets down to the trail.
Ella Belling
Executive Director
Mon River Trails Conservancy
P.O. Box 282
Morgantown, WV 26507
http://montrails.org
304-692-6782