7-mile Bassett Creek trail planned

Three Rivers Park District is wrapping up planning for the Bassett Creek Regional Trail, which will wind seven miles through the northwest suburbs, linking those cities to the growing network of walking and biking trails that crisscross Hennepin County.

The $2.2 million trail will run from French Regional Park on Medicine Lake through Plymouth, New Hope, Crystal and Golden Valley. It will connect to the Minneapolis Grand Rounds trail system at Theodore Wirth Park.

Completion of the trail depends on grant funding, and construction may not be complete until 2016 or later. Park district officials have been meeting with cities along the route this summer to get their reaction to the draft master plan.

New Hope Mayor Kathi Hemken said she and other members of the City Council enthusiastically support the project.

"We're excited," she said. "It will make biking on 36th Avenue a lot safer. ... We get people who want to bike to French Park, and this is a good way to do that."

The reception has been cooler in Golden Valley, where Mayor Linda Loomis said the city has a number of concerns about the trail plan. "We're positive about having a trail connection, but a lot of details need to be worked out," she said.

Among her issues are that the park district would take over city trails.

Three Rivers does not plow its regional trails in the winter, leaving it to cities to decide whether to do so. Because many Golden Valley residents say they use the city trail to commute, the city has been clearing snow from the city-built trail that would become part of the Bassett Creek trail.

If the city continues to plow that trail, the mayor said, that raises the issue of whether city residents would expect the city to also maintain Three Rivers' Luce Line Trail, which also runs through the city.

"The question is, are we setting a precedent here," Loomis said.

The city also is concerned that the park trail would run on the south side of Golden Valley Road where Courage Center sits. Loomis said it's unsafe to have bikes whizzing by a transit stop as Courage Center clients using wheelchairs, canes and other aids get on and off buses.

"We would prefer the trail to be on the north side of the street," she said.

The Bassett Creek trail has been a decade in the making, part of the park district's efforts to link first-ring suburbs to a growing network of biking and walking trails in the metro area. Plans call for the trail to be bituminous, 10 feet wide and built within public right-of-ways, Rexine said.

While the trail draws its name from Bassett Creek, for most of its length it would run on city streets.

The proposed route crosses the creek in a couple of places, would run near Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, Plymouth Middle School and Sonnesyn Elementary School in New Hope and through several city parks.

Hemken called the trail a "crucial link" for New Hope. The city has many people who walk and bike, she said, but it doesn't always feel safe. Slow walkers now share sidewalks with power walkers and bikers who ride on sidewalks to avoid automobile traffic.

"This would separate bikers and roller bladers and walkers," she said. "This is just an ideal situation, much safer."

Three Rivers is accepting public comment on the trail plan through Aug. 24. The draft plan is available online at www.startribune.com/a602.

Written comments may be e-mailed to BassettCreekTrail@threeriversparkdistrict.org or mailed to Three Rivers Park District, Bassett Creek Regional Trail, 3000 Xenium Lane N., Plymouth, MN 55441.

Rexine said comments will be summarized and sent to the Three Rivers Park Board for consideration. If no further changes are requested by the Park Board, the master plan then would be sent to the Metropolitan Council for final review and approval.