Trails opened, trails in the works, and other Corridor biking news

Cycling in the Corridor is being celebrated as summer turns into fall, with more infrastructure and increased levels of participation, in spite of enduring more than our share of foul weather.

On August 26 the last leg of the Cedar Valley Trail was opened, from downtown Ely to the Johnson County line.

Trail displays and guides were provided by the Linn County Trails Association

Not quite finished: intersection of  Ely and Seven Sisters Roads

Posh new bridge

Where it ends, for now

Eventually, the trail will connect to the Hoover Nature Trail in Johnson County, which extends all the way to the Quad Cities

Access to Lake MacBride State Park and the town of Solon will be via this roundabout:

There was some rain on the ride, inevitably, but not enough to throw it off.

The same cannot be said for the annual Mayors' Bike Ride on Labor Day.

The forecast called for heavy rains with thunder, forcing its cancellation. There was a lot of rain that weekend:

So we had to be content with recalling Labor Days of yore.

A dry and sunny Mayors' Bike Ride in 2015

More rain later in the month both delayed completion and forced postponement of the scheduled September 30 opening of a new stretch of the Grant Wood Trail near Marion. The Cedar River got above flood stage three separate times...

3rd Avenue bridge, 25 September 2018

...forcing closure of some other trails, but unlike 2008 there was no major damage. Phillip Platz, astute urbanist in charge of communications for the Linn County Trails Association, promises a ribbon cutting ceremony and opening ride soon.

There's no questioning public interest in trails, particularly after the extraordinary turnout at a late October forum on how a ped-bike trail included in the Tower Terrace Road project will interface with Interstate 380, where there will be a new exit constructed in the next few years.

Tower Terrace Road will be gradually improved, to accommodate current congestion and anticipated future growth, from Edgewood Road to Route 13.

Given current rates of funding, that will take approximately 30 years to complete! However, the exit off the Interstate is of highest priority and is expected to happen soon.

Current plans call for at-grade crossings across exit ramps.

An alternative proposal is to route the path through a tunnel to avoid cross-traffic.

 
The alternative is somewhat more expensive--maybe $500,000 on top of an $18 million project--but the attendees appeared strongly supportive. I agree... the additional cost is marginal, and would ensure the path got used. It will be a cool way to get from Marion and the northern parts of Cedar Rapids to Wickiup Hill Park, but only if people feel they can safely ford the highway.


Also in the works is a ride on the new and final section of Highway 100, slated to occur around Thanksgiving. This is a curious way to commemorate a new pathway to suburban sprawl, but there will eventually be a trail alongside it adding to the growing network in the region.

SEE ALSO: "Legally Parked?" 21 September 2018 [UPDATE: The "no-parking here to corner" sign is gone; the cars are still there. I've tried to get the Cosmos, Coe's student newspaper, to alert the students to the situation, to no avail to date.]