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Walk, Ride & Roll the River Route
June 8th 6:00-8:00
Meet up at the Heritage Center Parking Lot
Thanks to all that contacted the mayor and councilors!
As of April 20th there is very good news on the horizon for the lower route. The City has heard your voices and will share more at the up coming public meeting on Thursday, May 27, 2021 5:00 pm
Stay tuned for more details from the City.
Call To Action!
Write to your City Councilors and the Mayor supporting the lower route before the upper route.
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How do you want to get across the gap in the Cross City Trail?
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Do you want the most direct route possible without crossing over Grand Ave/Highway 23?
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Would you want to stay a block or better below Grand Ave?
Let the council and mayor know what you prefer. It is doable if only the mayor will direct her talented staff to do so. The funding is available to help as well!
Send the mayor and council your thoughts in an email, here are their addresses:
A short message stating clearly that the lower route is your priority to be completed before any other route is all thats needed. Maybe let them know how this gap affects your ability to get to where you want to go.
The plan the council approved in 2017 states that the lower route (seg 6) is the highest priority. This is a quote out of the Phasing + Priority section, page 36:
"Of the long-term incomplete phases of the trail, Segment
6 holds the highest priority for future investment
for the City and for the community."
The current situation is that this mayor Larson inherited a plan that changed drastically in 2015 by rerouting the trail above highway 23/Grand Ave. This has caused confusion and delays in locating the lower route. The long held believe is that the railroad spur is needed before any other work can happen. This is not accurate at all. It is the preferred route but not needed and could still be attained in the long run or even before the lower route is completed.
What is needed is for the City to do more work building out from the Munger Trailhead East to Raleigh Street below highway 23/Grand Ave. If by then we do not attain the railroad spur we can use Raleigh St and 59th Ave W with a possible protected bike lane. Raleigh St's rebuild was delayed and most likely will be rebuilt. If it would include a protected bike lane all the more reason for us to use the street funds t provide multimodal use of our right of ways.
After the Cross City Trail is built on the lower route we can then make the spur connections above Grand Ave.
The I35 interchange at Grand Ave most likely will be rebuilt in 5-10 years so we could get a safe spur trail using a tunnel at that time. In the mean time build the Cross City Trail and not spurs. Just like the Lakewalk where it crosses under London Road, highway 61 into the new trail at Brighton Beach.
Trail progress updates and our current work to assure the trail is built to its full potential:
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January 26, 2021 the City held a public meeting on segment 3 asking how should the CCT go from Irving Park to the upper route. Over 40 attended, all that commented asked that the lower route, segment 6, be completed first. See the Duluth News Tribune article reporting on the frustrated public and City staff and our response to the meeting.
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Segment 2 to be closed in 2021 for Erie Pier Ponds Cleanup project. Disappointing for sure but the project is needed. This is one of many AOC (Area of Concern) projects to help the health of the St Louis River Estuary and Great Lakes
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Segment 2 (The River Route) is ready to use. See this link for photos.
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The River Route is on schedule to be built yet this year with a completion goal of August 2020. On this site's interactive map it's seg 2-4 and segment 2 on the City's master plan (confusing, for sure).
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The City Council approved the $1.9M construction contract for the River Route (seg 2-4 on our interactive map and videos) on January 13, 2020. This is wonderful news. This segment will extend the existing terminus at Carlton Ave into Irving Park, the heart of West Duluth.
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The City was awarded Transportation Alternative funding for segment 3 from Irving Park to the Fairmont Trail above Grand Ave and Keene Creek Park. The trail within the park is complete, late fall of 2020.
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We are currently working with a coalition of groups and the City on segment 6 to assure the City is doing all it can to secure the alignment. This is the CCT's mini-master plan's top priority, from 59th Ave W to the Munger Trail Head following the abandoned BN railway to Raleigh St then along the old railway to Munger Trailhead. BN Railroad has not given the City permission yet, we are hopeful that they will. If this is not possible there are other routes yet they are not as direct as the BN route. The main goal is to secure the alignment south of the BN tracks so the trail can reach the BN tracks. If we can not use the BN right of way we can then take alternate routes.
Join our email list, follow us on Facebook and stay connected to Western Duluth projects like:
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Cross City Trail
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Western Waterfront Trail
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Rail AND Trail system along the world's largest fresh water estuary
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Spirit Landing, aka Kayak Bay
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and more
Interactive Map with Videos and stills
Click on the Map
Visit the 7 segments page. Starting at Wade Stadium area heading west along the entire route to the existing Munger Trail Head
Friends of Western Duluth Parks & Trails (formally River Corridor Coalition (RCC), Trails/Parks Committee) has been working on parks and trails topics for the past five years. Our goal for the Cross City Trail has been to find the best route to connect the existing Munger Trail Head at Pulaski St to the existing terminus at Carlton Ave and the Lakewalk Trail. This is a regionally significant trail connection, connecting two great State Trails, the Munger Trail and Gitchi-Gami Trail. When all complete you can go from Hinckley MN to the Canadian border.
Segment 6 is the priority for the Cross City Trail. With segment 2 being constructed we need to turn to segment 6 and have resources dedicated to completing this segment so the CCT will happen. The other segments in the CCT plan are nice from a spurs perspective but without segment 6 completed the CCT is not complete.
Check out the Our Vision page for more details.