By Jesse Rindlesbach
New bike paths are coming soon to West Valley City, Utah. There are currently two new bike trails under construction in West Valley City. According to Kevin Astill with West Valley City Parks & Recreation, both of these paved trails will run east to west, giving cyclists new and safe ways to cross the valley.
The first, called the Crosstowne Trail, will connect to the Jordan River Parkway Trail and, upon completion, head all the way out to 7200 W and the edge of city limits. The trail begins near the Redwood nature area on the Jordan River Parkway near 2700 S. From there, it will head west and by way of bridge cross over I-215 next to the Franklin Covey building. Due to cost, an existing bridge is being used but consequently, the trail over the highway had to be narrowed down to 4 feet wide from 8 feet. The trail widens back out and continues on to 2700 W. This first segment of the trail will be completed in Fall 2013. The rest of the trail follows along the West Valley Trax line and the Brighton Canal trail out to Bangerter Highway where a bridge will need to be constructed. Beyond that, the plan is to connect to the Lake Park trail system, which will extend out to 5600 W. From there, no further plans have been made. The funding for this trail comes from about two-thirds transportation grants and the rest is from Parks and Recreation. Further funding will be needed to complete the trail, which currently does not have a set completion date. With the construction of the PRATT Trail from Wasatch Boulevard to the Jordan River Parkway, cyclists will soon have a full cross valley off-street route.
The second trail, called the Utah Salt Lake Canal Trail, begins at about 4000 W and 4700 S and will travel along a maintenance road that runs along a canal out to the Mountain View Corridor Trail. From there, it will continue out to 8400 W ending at the Baucus Highway. Salt Lake County and West Valley City have both given grant money towards the funding of this project, but Salt Lake County has taken the lead on the planning and construction of this project. The first segment of this trail, which will run from 4800 W to 5600 W, will be completed by mid-October 2013. No date has been set for the completion of the entire trail.
For more information, see West Valley City’s Bike Plan http://www.wvc-ut.gov/documentcenter/view/1854 (page 129-135)
