Twin Falls Council Votes to Connect Canyon Rim Trail
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)- Runners, walkers and bicyclists will soon be able to travel along the Snake River Canyon without interruption thanks to a memorandum passed by the Twin Falls City Council Monday evening.
The memorandum is the product of the efforts made by the Magic Valley Trail Enhancement Committee (MaVTEC) whose mission is to develop the city’s trail system and connect gaps in the walkways.
Several councilors credited the vision of former community leaders. Travis Rothweiler, City Manager, said "sometimes projects like this take a long time to build. they take lots of dreaming and they take lots of ambition. And it starts with great former leaders in our community like Tom Courtney, LaMar Orton and Gary Young and Dennis Bowyer who had the vision to create a trail system inside of our community."
The memorandum will allow the MaVTEC to connect the Canyon Rim Trail from Eastland Drive to the Evel Knievel jump site with an easement agreement with the private property owners.
Citizens and visitors alike will be able to walk the length of the canyon from Washington Street to Dierkes Lake without leaving the trail. The committee must now raise $600,000 to pay for cost of altering irrigation systems on the property owners land as well as other damages caused by construction of the trail.
The MaVTEC will host a number of fundraisers and seek contributions to raise the needed funding. The committee has until March 1, 2017 to get the $600,000 or else the memorandum will expire. The connecting trail is expected to cost tax payers $800,000.