Edina residents who worry that a regional biking and walking trail would come too close to their homes have organized to fight the plan.

Opponents have started a website and a Facebook page to make their case against the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail, which would run 17 miles from Hopkins through Edina to Richfield. People who oppose the path say it would be too close to homes and schools, could hurt wildlife and would bring crime to quiet neighborhoods.

"People are realizing that it really is going to be right in their back yard and in the back yard of their schools," said Pam Johnson, who lives on Valley Lane and set up the anti-trail website. "The more people think about it, the more difficult it is for them to embrace this giant thing."

John Keprios, director of Edina parks and recreation, said the city and Three Rivers Park District, which will own and maintain the trail, have "no interest in putting a trail on private property or building on private property."

"These things are always a great idea in somebody else's back yard," he said. "We will look at all the alternatives and take the least-worst route."

The trail, which would link to other bike routes to the west and south, has strong support from groups like the Bike Edina Task Force. In a 2006 survey, Edina residents said their top recreational priority was more outdoor trails.

Alice Hulbert, a former City Council member and a member of the bike task force, said if Edina wants to be a progressive city, it needs transportation options and amenities.

"If Edina wants to be attractive to young families who want to be active, this is an important thing," she said. "You have to weigh the public good. When you buy property that borders park land, you need to understand that the purpose of that public land could change in the future."

Work on the trail has already started in Hopkins, where much of the trail runs along an old railroad corridor and through a public park, said Jonathan Vlaming, senior manager of planning for the park district.

Since the first open house on the trail was held in February, the list of possible routes through Edina has been narrowed. West 70th Street between Hwy. 100 and France Avenue has been removed because the road is too narrow to accommodate a trail. Steep hills along 66th Street where it runs by Normandale and Rosland parks have knocked that stretch of road off the plan because it's too hilly to be fully accessible.

Right now, planners think they will need four private property easements. In some areas, Vlaming said, the park district may be willing to erect privacy fences to screen the trail.

In Edina, "no matter what you do you're going to be adjacent to private property," Vlaming said. "There simply is no other way to get through there."

The biggest challenge has been a "pinch point" at Edina's center on Brook Drive, where there is no public buffer around the Nine Mile Creek, and property lines run to the middle of the creek. Residents there have vocally opposed any trail on their property.

Vlaming said planners heard those objections loud and clear. The plan now is to run the trail on public land along railroad tracks to the east of that street. Pam Johnson questions who will police the trail and pay for upkeep and trash collection. And she has bigger worries as well.

"I just don't see our community as one that wants to be opened up to the world," she said. "We're kind of cloistered here. We don't want crime and we don't want the traffic. That's bothering people, and I think it will affect property values."

Outside of some episodes in Minneapolis, there is "absolutely no evidence" that bike trails draw crime, Vlaming said. Safety officers regularly patrol. Vlaming said the most frequent police calls are from trail users who are having health problems or from people complaining about kids smoking on the trails.

A second public open house on the trail will be held Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall.

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380