The South Park Loop Pathway is a much anticipated pathway that funding was approved for during the Primary Election on August 19th. Stay Tuned for updates regarding the planning and design efforts.

Jackson Hole Community Pathways will present 50% design of the South Park Loop Pathway to the Teton County Commissioners on Tuesday, February 16th at 9am.

The meeting will provide elected officials and the public the opportunity to review and comment on the preliminary alignment for the 1.9 mile pathway proposed along South Park Loop between 3 Creek Ranch and Melody Ranch. Civil design for the project started in early 2016 when the project design team in the field in January and the development of a conceptual design through early February. The Phase Report and Plan set documents pathway alignment, corridor constraints, location and design of crossings, utility conflicts, and impacts to trees.

Friends of Pathways encourages commenters to urge the electeds to ensure that the crossings are built in a way that is safe for users of all age groups and abilities. Please direct comments to Brian Schilling at Jackson Hole Community Pathways, bschilling@tetonwyo.org or directly to the county commissioners at commissioners@tetonwyo.org.

The South Park Loop Pathway was funded through a 2014 Special Purpose Excise Tax. Planning for the pathway began in the fall of 2015 with Community Open Houses. The design contract was let soon after the Teton County Commission determined the best alignment for the pathway.

Teton County Engineering will host the final open house to share comments on the South Park Loop Pathway on Thursday, November 12, 5:30 – 7:00pm at JH Community School.

The third and final workshop will feature project overview presentations by Engineering staff including discussion of the pathway alignment options of the 1.9-mile segment between the west edge of Melody Ranch and the south edge of 3 Creek Ranch, pros and cons of possible alignments, topographic and right of way conditions, and project goals and parameters.

Additionally, the public is invited to submit comments to the Teton County Commissioners before the public workshop scheduled during the week of November 30th. Project planning is expected to extend through the spring of 2016 and construction to start in summer of 2016.

During the two previous open houses, Teton County Engineering received feedback from the public on the alignment for the South Park Loop Pathway. At this point, they intend to build a majority of the pathway on the north/east side of the road and to build crossings for people on foot and bike to safely span the road. Attend the workshop to learn more about the proposed plan and to share your thoughts.

If you have comments and are not able to attend, please contact Brian Schilling at Jackson Hole Community Pathways. bschilling@tetonwyo.org

SPL Timeline - FINAL

SPL Timeline - FINAL

 

Construction for the South Park Loop Pathway will begin in the summer of 2016. In the meantime, there is a lot of work to be done behind the scenes to plan for the project. If you have questions, contact Brian Schilling with Jackson Hole Community Pathways: bschilling@tetonwyo.org

After an exciting evening at the polls, Friends of Pathways took a moment to connect with Brian Schilling at Town of Jackson/Teton County Pathways.  His thoughts on the support for this year’s SPET Propositions follow:

For over a decade, the Town of Jackson/Teton County Pathways program has been fortunate to receive incredible community support in SPET elections, and Teton County voters have come through again this year to approve the final segment of South Park Loop pathway and pedestrian improvement projects on North Cache and in West Jackson.

We know the importance of this enduring support cannot be underestimated, as it has made it possible to complete major projects that would otherwise have been impossible or would have taken decades to fund through general budgeting. We recognize that the community’s support is the lifeblood of the Pathways program, and because of this we greatly appreciate their support and do not take it for granted.

“I am encouraged and grateful,” Brian Schilling, Pathways Coordinator for Teton County/Town of Jackson said, ”to know that, despite a well funded campaign attacking SPET and pathways in particular, Teton County voters have again demonstrated their support for a safe, multi modal transportation system by approving all three transportation-related SPET propositions.”

SPET is a powerful tool that allows voters to have a direct say in prioritizing capital projects. The results from this year’s election clearly show that the voters have, once again, stamped their approval on SPET as an appropriate way to fund these important projects in a timely and responsible manner.

For more information on SPET Propositions #4, 3 &2, visit our previous blog posts.

Friends of Pathways supports and encourages the community to VOTE YES on SPET Initiatives # 4, 3 & 2. For more information and what folks are saying, visit the links below:

Proposition #4 South Park Loop Pathway
Vote YES to complete South Park Loop connecting 3 Creek to Melody Ranch
FAQ’s here

Proposition #3 Pedestrian Improvements on North Cache
Vote YES to plan, design, and construct complete street improvements on North Cache to completely the final 1200ft of the east side of North Cache
7/16 News and Guide: Tax Project Would Fill Gap in N. Cache Path

Proposition #2 Complete Streets, Sidewalks, Utility and Storm Water
Vote YES to plan, design, construct complete street improvements on Gregory Lane, Snow King Ave and Maple Way, Scott Lane, East Broadway and Center Street

  1. Did we vote for SPET funds to complete projects in South Park Loop before?

In 2006 SPET initiative approved $947,000 for “South Park Loop and Schools Campus Pathways.” This funded a number of projects, either fully or in part.  Some of the funding was leveraged to match federal grants, used to fill in gaps in the South Park Network. We knew from the beginning that $947,000 was not enough to complete the entire project, but we made a lot of progress with this funding to leverage other funds, including,

  1. Flat Creek to Kestrel (match for Federal TEAL funds)
  2. Teton Science School Connector
  3. Middle School to 3 Creek
  4. High School Road Intersection
  5. Flat Creek to Highway 89 (match for private Melody funds)

 

  1. What will this project cost?  And, will it complete this section of pathway?

Teton County requests 3.5 Million to complete the 1.8 miles of pathway.  This section is one of the more costly sections of pathway due to topography and possible easements.

 

  1. How much SPET has been spent on pathways?

$12,467,533 or 6% of historical SPET/Cap Tax initiatives have gone to pathway projects.  These funds have been used to leverage federal, state and local funding.

 

  1. When will South Park Loop be completed?

Jackson Hole Community Pathways have suggested the project will be completed in 2016, but the final timeline will be determined by the pathways department and the electeds after the funding is secured.

 

  1. Where will the pathway be located?

The pathway will most likely connect to existing pathways on the south and west side of South Park Loop at 3 Creek (Hufsmith Hill, Rancho Allegre) and Kestrel Lane (Melody Ranch). Design is underway, but will be completed when funding is secured.

On August 19th, Teton County Voters will have the opportunity to fund 3 pathway related projects, the South Park Loop Pathway from 3 Creek to Melody Ranch, Complete Streets projects, and North Cache Pedestrian Improvements. Friends of Pathways encourages pathways supporters to VOTE YES on 4, 3 and 2.

SPET INITIATIVE #4
SOUTH PARK LOOP PATHWAY from 3 Creek to Melody Ranch
South-Park-Loop-Pathway-map-wide
3.5 Million to design and construct the missing link of the South Park Loop Pathway from 3 Creek to Melody Ranch.

SPET INITIATIVE #3
PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS on North Cache

SPET INITIATIVE #2
COMPLETE STREETS, SIDEWALKS, UTILITY, STORM WATER
on Gregory Lane, Snow King Avenue, Maple Way, Scott Lane, East Broadway, and Center Street.

Good news! Your communications to the Town & County have done great work advancing the completion of the South Park Loop Rd pathway. At their meeting on Monday, the electeds approved a $3.5M allocation for the SPET ballot this August. This would fund construction of the missing 1.9 miles of pathway from 3 Creek to Melody Ranch! FOP will work to support this SPET vote with an educational campaign over the summer, making voters aware of the importance of saying YES to a complete pathway for South Park Loop Rd. You can view the entire list of SPET initiatives here.