Arvada Trails: A Work in Progress
By Larry Wapensky, Arvada Park Advisory Committee
The City of Arvada has many magnificent trails. Trails that follow natural drainages include Ralston Creek, Van Bibber Creek, and Little Dry Creek Trails. Off-street trails include Discovery Trail in east Arvada and Yankee Doodle Trail; some trails parallel busy streets such as the trail along Wadsworth Boulevard from W. 86th Avenue to W. 66th Avenue, and along W. 64th Avenue from McIntyre Street to State Highway 93.
The Arvada Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan, adopted in 2001 following extensive community input, serves as a blueprint for trail development and improvement. A major goal of the Master Plan is to achieve a network of trails that connect north to south and east to west through Arvada, and that tie regional trails to residential areas and other neighboring communities. For example, the connection of the Ralston Creek Trail with the Clear Creek Trail at Gold Strike Park provides users with direct access to Denver on the east and Wheat Ridge on the west. It is therefore critical that Arvada works closely with many entities in implementing the Trails Master Plan, including Jefferson County Open Space and adjoining municipalities such as Golden, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, and Boulder.
The City also works with residential developers to ensure that access to a trail flows easily from new communities. One example of such cooperation is the connection to the Little Dry Creek Trail at W. 86th Avenue and Alkire Street in the Village of Five Parks.
Long-term planning is a key feature of Arvada’s Trail Master Plan. The following are examples of this planning:
The City of Arvada and Jefferson County Open Space plan the future continuation of the Ralston Creek and Van Bibber Creek Trails west through existing underpasses under State Highway 93 with the goal of a connection to Jefferson County’s White Ranch Park.
The City is exploring trail connections from the transit station stops along the proposed Gold Line. One transit stop planned at Kipling Street could potentially include a trail connection to the Van Bibber Creek Trail.
All this trail work costs money. Funding for the trails program comes from a variety of sources, such as the City of Arvada, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado Lottery, private residential developers, and Federal transportation grants.
For more information about trail planning and development in Arvada, call the City’s Parks and Urban Design Division at 720-898-7403 or log on to the City’s website at www.arvada.org.