Lexington, KY - New bike and pedestrian trails are sprouting up all over central Kentucky. The main leg of Lexington's new Legacy Trail opened in September, which, once complete, will extend 12 miles from the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden in the East End all the way to the Kentucky Horse Park. Lexington's parks are also filled with small pedestrian loops, such as the Wellington Dog Park trail, the Dogwood Park trail, the new Lafayette trail at Shillito Park, and the Beaumont/Harrods Hill Park trails. One day soon, folks from Lexington will also be able to bike or walk along the new multi-use trail under construction along Harrodsburg Road all the way to Wilmore, Ky.
So where is all of this trail stuff heading? The idea is that one day, you will be able to ride your bike or walk to your local park as the access point for a whole system of interconnected bike and pedestrian trails in Lexington and beyond. Once on the Lexington trail system, you will be able to walk or bike out to horse farms or rolling countryside, along wooded creeks and greenways, over to another Lexington park, or take a day-long excursion to another town. Allowing citizens to enjoy our unsurpassed natural beauty through an extended system of bike and pedestrian trails will add yet another reason why Lexington is a world class place where people will want to visit and live, and where businesses will want to locate.
I was very impressed a couple of summers ago when I toured the bike and trail system in Madison, Wisc. Madison boasts more than a 100 miles of trails, and over the years they have put together one of the largest trail systems in the country. Madison city officials and trail designers advised us to provide for pedestrian access and bike trails whenever the state makes big changes to bridges or roadways, because sometimes you don't get a second chance to add a bike lane or tunnel. Kentucky followed a similar policy in recent years when the Harrodsburg Road Bridge was built over the South Elkhorn Creek, as Kentucky's Department of Transportation (DOT) wisely included a bike tunnel underneath the bridge for future use. Over the past several months, I've been meeting with Kentucky's DOT to encourage the construction of a new bike trail underneath the Harrodsburg Road interchange at New Circle Road. There are only so many ways to cross New Circle Road, and many of them are simply dangerous. If and when Kentucky's DOT redesigns the Harrodsburg Road interchange, we must not miss the important chance to provide bikers and pedestrians a safe way to cross underneath New Circle Road.
As citizens are spending more time on trails, LFUCG's Department of Parks and Recreation has been working on safety guidelines so that citizens can best protect themselves or call for help if they run into problems while using a Lexington trail. Many communities across the United States have developed trail signage and milestone markers so that citizens in need can quickly identify their location on a trail when an emergency arises. We also need this in Lexington, and clearly marked signs and mile markers will make the difference to emergency responders when fast timing is important.
If you haven't taken a ride yet on Lexington's new Legacy Trail, you should. You'll be glad you did. The Legacy Trail, and Lexington's growing system of trails, will be a source of pride and enjoyment for our community for years to come.