Monday, Aug 7, 2006
Voyageurs National Park is proposing to construct a bicycle trail that would connect the existing bike path on Highway 11 East with the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. The park is pursuing this project in partnership with Koochiching County through a grant under the 2006 Transportation bill sponsored by Congressman Oberstar.
"We greatly appreciate the county's efforts to secure these funds and work with the park on this project,” stated Voyageurs’ Superintendent, Kate Miller. “Both resident and visiting cyclists will benefit from a safe and beautiful route connecting the park to the existing trail along Highway 11 to International Falls," she continued.
There is no bike lane along the current park road, and safety concerns exist for both bicyclists and motorists who are sharing this space.
The park is seeking public input on the proposal to construct the new bicycle trail during an initial scoping period from August 5 –September 5, 2006. The park and County will use this information to help evaluate the proposal. At this time two alternate routes have been identified as reasonable options.
1) Widen the existing road to provide space for a bike lane adjacent to the road.
2) Construct a separate paved bike path through the undeveloped land to the north of the existing road.
The park is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) document as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Construction of a new bike path would involve modification of the surrounding landscape. This includes the removal of vegetation, blasting of bedrock outcrops, importation of fill materials, and modification of wetlands.
The Environmental Assessment will provide a comparative analysis of the benefits and impacts of each of the alternate routes. The document will be available for public review and comment. Comments from the public will be used to help planners decide on the actual route where a bicycle trail would be constructed.
People are encouraged to contact the park if they would like to comment on the proposed route alternatives, suggest an alternate route, identify potential impacts related to construction, or suggest measures to eliminate or reduce impacts. Project information is posted on the park’s new project website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/voya
The park has established this website to allow anyone interested in park projects to view posted documents and provide comments to the park on the website, by contacting park staff by mail, e-mail or telephone.
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