By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A new group in Plainville has plans to build three sets of trails in Rooks County with designs on expanding trails throughout northwest Kansas.
Newly chartered in 2020, the Prairie Frontier Trails Association hopes to build a pump track within Plainville city limits. This would be a short looping track for mountain bikers and BMX riders to practice their basic skills.
The second project is a park with looping ATV trails. Bret Greenwood, executive director of the trails association, said a site for this park has yet to be determined. The park would have about 5 miles of trails once it is complete.
The third project would be phased improvements to the trails at the Plainville Township Lake. Although those trails are heavily used by ATVs, the association would like to convert them into walking, biking and equestrian trails with a total distance of 6 to 7 miles in the system once the project is fully complete. The lake trails would be eventually closed to ATVs.
Heartland Foundation funds 'wish list'
In its most recent round of grants, the Heartland Community Foundation awarded the association $20,000 for what Greenwood called a "wish list" of items to help volunteers begin working on the trail projects.
Among the items the association will purchase with the grant money will be a Kansas Trail Council Trail in a Box. This package includes shovels, picks and chainsaws that are necessary to clear and maintain trails.
The association will buy surveying equipment so the trails can be laid out with the appropriate grade.
The grant funds will be used to purchase a drone for the association that will be used for a variety of purposes.
During the planning process, the drone will be used to help with surveying. It will also be used for marketing purposes to film the progress of the trails as they are developed. The association can use it to track unauthorized users on the trail. Greenwood said the association would also make the drone available to the local fire department.
The last item on the list will be trail cameras to be used on the lake trails to document trail use. The group hopes to see trail use increase over time, and the camera will allow the association to track if the trails are being used by pedestrians, bicyclists or horseback riders.
The association doesn't wish to capture faces, Greenwood said, and the footage will be erased after the group gathers the data it needs.
Trails connect community to outdoors
The association was in part sparked by Greenwood's passion for the outdoors. He is an avid cyclist and found when he moved to Plainville from Topeka, few opportunities for biking were available.
Rural northwest Kansas doesn't have a lot of paved roads, and the highways can be dangerous for cyclists because they have narrow shoulders and heavy truck and farm traffic.
About the same time Greenwood moved to the area, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation was conducting its Strategic Doing focus groups. Activities for both youth and older residents were among the needs identified. Greenwood said trails fill the need for both groups.
The Kansas Trail Council also was conducting meetings in the area to determine the need and interest for trails in northwest Kansas at the time.
The association has become a partner with the Plainville Wellness Coalition, which received a $200,000 grant in July from Blue Cross Blue Shield to promote health initiatives in the community during the next four years.
"I certainly believe there is a positive vibe for increasing the opportunities for healthy living and healthy choices through getting out and walking, running, hiking cycling, and that kind of exercise, Greenwood said. ...
"Research is showing more and more [getting outdoors] has such a positive impact on our physical health as well as our emotional health."
Funding to dictate timing
The timing of the association's projects is heavily dependent on funding, Greenwood said. Each mile of trail will cost $20,000 to $30,000. In addition, the lake trail project will require two bridges, which will cost an estimated $30,000 to $50,000 each.
The first phase of the lake trails project would be 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 miles, depending on the final design.
"Our goal as the Prairie Frontier Trails Association is to not just slap things together. We want to design and build the trails to the highest quality standards according to best practices established in this field," Greenwood said.
The association plans to use the national parks and national forest guidelines as well as transportation load specification for the bridges.
Greenwood said he would like to start work on the first phase of lake trail project as soon as this year. However, he said each phase could take two to three years to complete, depending on fundraising.
He also hopped to begin work on the pump track this year if the estimated $30,ooo in funding needed can be secured. A majority of the cost will be for special soil that will need to be trucked into the site.
The ATV trail park will be a longer term project because land may need to purchased. Cost of the ATV trail would likely be about $20,000 per mile for five miles, plus the cost to purchase land or a lease agreement.
"Once land is acquired, it will take a year or two to design and build the initial courses on the land, and we will probably see long-term expansion over the next 10 to 20 years as we add trails and make improvements to the property as we go," Greenwood said.
"That is not a bad thing because year to year you may come out to visit and find a new trail or loop you haven't seen before and that's exciting. 'I'm going to go ride that and see how it goes.' "
Group hopes trails bring new faces to community
Association members hope the trails will bring new faces to Plainville.
"What we are hoping for is that once we have the trails developed here in Plainville, we'll be able to draw in people not just from neighboring communities to use our trails," Greenwood said, "but across the state and Nebraska and Colorado — that people passing through will take time to stop and see what we have, like what we have and hopefully come back."
Trails in a community also tend to mean higher home prices, Greendwood said.
"Plainville has a lot of vacant lots, and some of those lots are slowly filling in" he said. "I think once we have an established trail system at the nearby township lake that buyer demand for homes in Plainville will increase."
The association is starting in Plainville because that is where Greenwood and the current members live. However, Greenwood said he would like to see the trail building effort spread across northwest Kansas.
Those interested in donating to or volunteering with the association can follow the group on its Facebook page. A website for the association is set to launch this week. Once the website launches, people will be able to donate through the website using a credit card or electronic check.
Those who are wishing to make a large donation or are interested in a sponsorship should email the group at [email protected] for more information.