Fixes in works to split river trail users, traffic

Span over tracks on board agenda

Little Rock and Dillard’s are nearing a deal to move the Arkansas River Trail away from a busy street, Mayor Mark Stodola said, as a project to relieve a different trail headache awaits Board of Directors approval.

City directors are to decide Tuesday whether to approve a $1.1 million contract authorizing construction of a bicycle-pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks west of Broadway. The overpass, which would immediately shift trail traffic from the LaHarpe Boulevard bridge, is the first of two projects to separate the eastern leg of the trail from most city roadways.

Moving a western segment of the trail from alongside Cantrell Road and onto Dillard’s property would solve another long-standing problem, making it safer for bicyclists and joggers who are wary of using slender sidewalks along a heavily trafficked roadway.

Together, the piecemeal projects would align the Arkansas River Trail with its recreational purpose by buffering its users from vehicle traffic, said John Landosky, the city’s bicycle-pedestrian coordinator.

Little Rock, through the mayor’s office, has negotiated for years with Dillard’s about building a trail across the retailer’s corporate property.

“We’re making good progress,” Stodola said. “We’re not 100 percent there, but we’re getting very close.”

Dillard’s corporate spokesman Julie Bull in a statement confirmed the ongoing talks with the city.

“Dillard’s has been working diligently with the mayor’s office to find an economical solution to completing the bike trail, and we look forward to a completed trail soon,” Bull said.

If the sides reach an agreement, the focus would turn to engineering the segment and securing the money to build it, as neither are in place, Stodola said.

Cantrell Road’s sidewalk is among a few problem areas that have deterred bicyclists from using the Little Rock side of the 15-mile loop as often as they use the North Little Rock side, said Mason Ellis, secretary of Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas.

“The Arkansas River Trail is supposed to be for the visitors and novices and families,” Ellis said. “Most of it is, but we’ve got to fix those last couple of spots to fill in the gap, close the loop.”

One such fix involves the 16-foot-wide pedestrian bridge. Using it would allow the trail to remain on the river side of LaHarpe Boulevard from the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge. Although users will at least temporarily have to travel lighter-trafficked streets and sidewalks near LaHarpe and Cantrell, they will no longer have to cross streets that have heavy traffic.

It also eliminates the fraught trip across the LaHarpe bridge, Ellis said.

“We think it’s pretty significant,” Ellis said of the pedestrian bridge. “It’s really kind of another piece in the puzzle of finishing the Arkansas River Trail.”

City Manager Bruce Moore recommended that directors approve a contract with Little Rock-based Manhattan Road and Bridge. Construction is estimated to cost between $1.1 million and $1.3 million. A $1 million state allocation and city sales tax revenue will cover the cost.

City directors are to vote on the contract at their 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday at City Hall.

The bridge project will take about 6 months once the contract is signed, said Mike Hood, who manages the civil engineering division of the city’s Public Works Department.

Initially, the bridge, which will be near the LaHarpe bridge over the same tracks, will link to LaHarpe’s northern sidewalk. City officials ultimately plan to connect the eastern side of the bridge with the Medical Mile portion of the trail, but are looking for money to build that ramp, Landosky said.

Little Rock applied for a $2 million Federal Lands Access Program grant to pay for the link and for shoring up the slipping bank on which the Medical Mile sits, Landosky said.

The bridge’s western end also will connect with a north LaHarpe sidewalk before following the Cantrell sidewalk. The goal is to tie it in with a segment that would run across Dillard’s property, Landosky said.

As of now, what the city refers to as the “western terminus” ends at Dillard’s property. A narrow strip runs parallel to the property line and connects that part of the trail with the Cantrell sidewalk.

Meanwhile, a roughly 20-block detour covering Third, Fourth and Markham streets should be eliminated within months, after construction of the Broadway bridge wraps up and the trail segment running beneath it is no longer impeded, Landosky said.

After that is complete — and before the ramp to the pedestrian bridge is built — the trail going west will detour near State Street and go along North Street before connecting with the LaHarpe sidewalk.

Once the bridge is built, the need for a ramp and the Cantrell segment in front of Dillard’s will be the primary weak links of the Arkansas River Trail loop, something that discourages use by inexperienced or young walkers, joggers, skaters and cyclists, Landosky said.

“This loop is as strong as its weakest link,” Landosky said. “The trail as it stands now — going on the sidewalk in front of Dillard’s — is not adequate, is not safe for those groups of people.”