Curious Iowa: Who plans for and maintains Linn County’s trails?

The trails that wind through Linn County provide local residents and visitors miles of opportunity to walk, run and bike to their hearts’ content. But who decides where the trails are built? And what kind of work goes into maintaining them?

Curious Iowa is a series from The Gazette that seeks to answer your questions about the state, its culture and the people who live here. One curious Iowan wondered: “How are the locations of Linn County biking and walking trails decided? How are they funded and maintained? And why are some paved while others are not?”

Linn County Conservation oversees more than 8,000 acres of public land, including more than 100 miles of trails.

One of these trails is the Cedar Valley Nature Trail (CVNT), a 52-mile path that originally ran from Evansdale in Black Hawk County through Hiawatha in Linn County. Funding secured over the years has allowed the trail to extend to Johnson County.

Linn County Conservation Outreach Specialist Ryan Schlader called the Cedar Valley Nature Trail “a major artery throughout Eastern Iowa.”

Paved trails vs. unpaved trails

Cyclists and pedestrians may notice that not all of Linn County’s trails are paved. Schlader said developing hard-surface trails is a priority for Linn County Conservation and that trails will be paved as funding allows.

“Most unpaved trails are located within our park system with various levels to complement the natural aesthetics of our natural areas, that support a wide range of abilities,” Schlader said.

Schlader said it’s cheaper to maintain paved trails than gravel trails. This is because unpaved trails erode over time and gravel needs to be refreshed.

Infrared counters on trails show that paved trails get more use.

“Once we hard surface the trail, we have seen the trail usage double and then triple throughout the years.” Schlader said.

Many trails require cooperation between local governments and organizations.

Destination Iowa and Linn County Conservation have partnered to pave a segment in Black Hawk County. Black Hawk and Linn County Conservation maintain the CVNT together.

Similar work has been done by the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization, which helped to fund the CeMar Trail to connect downtown Cedar Rapids to Uptown Marion.

Overall, groups like Linn County Conservation maintain partnerships with associations with similar goals to fund and maintain trails.

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The city of Cedar Rapids and Linn County Conservation are working to update the city’s and county’s existing trails plan and maps with a Trails and Bikeways Plan.

The goal of the project, as reported by The Gazette in May, is to build new connections to provide smaller communities with better access to county trails and parks. The communities in mind are Center Point, Central City, Fairfax, Springville and Palo.

Linn County trails are funded through a variety of sources, Schlader said. The Linn County Board of Supervisors approves the Conservation Department budget where money is allocated toward trail projects and maintenance.

Other sources of funding include the Linn County Trails Association and the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization.

“In 2016, Linn County voters approved the $40 million Linn County Water and Land Legacy Bond issue with 74 percent approval where $6 million are earmarked toward trails,” Schlader said. “The Conservation Department has been able to leverage these public funds with Federal and State Recreation Trail grant awards, local grants and private gifts.”

What type of maintenance does a trail need?

Park Ranger Shaun Reilly has been working for Linn County Conservation since 1981. With more than 40 years of conservation work under his belt, Reilly has seen the trails go through major changes. He remembers grooming CVNT before sections were paved.

“It would take me a month and a half,” Reilly said.

Now, maintaining paved trails requires rejuvenating the asphalt with an oil surface every three to four years and patching cracks.

Clearing brush is a big part of the job.

“As the season progresses, the vegetation actually wants to grow out toward the light,” Reilly said. “So we’re constantly cutting the vegetation back to keep the trail safe and clear for bikers and hikers.”

Summer is the busy season for trail maintenance, when rangers and seasonal employees remove dead trees and clear brush from the trails to keep trail users safe.

Reilly said maintenance equipment is often as wide as the trail itself. Ensuring the safety of workers and trail users while performing maintenance requires patience and cooperation.

“This is a 300-acre skinny little park is what it is and whenever we do any maintenance, we’re right in the way,” Reilly said. “That’s the biggest challenge we have and we hope for people’s patience with us when we’re out here because we have no alternative.”

Trail maintenance is paid for using local budget dollars. Trail maintenance includes forestry work, mowing, gravel replacement, crack filling and hard surface sealing.

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Who approves the routes for new trail developments?

New trail routes are built after significant input from Linn County Conservation staff, the public and other stakeholders, Schlader said.

“Ultimately, the Linn County Conservation Board makes the decision on the Conservation department managed trails, but it is all based upon creating logical and reasonable routes to create connections to local parks, destinations and other communities,” he said. “Many of these routes have been created from abandoned rail lines and roadways.”

For example, the development of the CVNT started with the acquisition of the abandoned Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern railroad right of way between Evansdale and Hiawatha.

Linn County Conservation has limited jurisdiction. State parks and recreation areas are managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. City parks are managed by a city’s parks and recreation department. Linn County Conservation manages the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Grant Wood Trail and Morgan Creek Trail along with other parks and natural areas.

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Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com