The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

June 1, 2012

Mankato-to-St. Peter trail talk in early stages

By Brian Ojanpa Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — The second of two informational meetings regarding a proposed Mankato-to-St. Peter bike trail Thursday presented an overview for an amenity that may still be a decade in the offing.

The gathering at the Mankato Intergovernmental Center followed a similar meeting earlier this month in St. Peter and touched on the hoops that must be jumped through before a trail can become reality.

“If there’s interest tonight, let us know,” Mankato Community Development Director Paul Vogel said to an assemblage that included landowners along the proposed Minnesota River corridor.

The Legislature years ago passed legislation encouraging construction of the trail but also ordered that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources could not condemn any land for it.

The informational meetings have sought to feel out landowners regarding whether they’d consider selling land for a trail or donating it.

Vogel said meetings so far have mostly produced landowner curiosity about the trail venture, although one person at the St. Peter meeting was more to  the point.

“He said, ‘I don’t want it on my property, but if it was nearby I would use it,’” Vogel said.

No specific corridor for a trail has been established, although it would track along the east side of the river.

The Mankato/St. Peter trail effort began in 2008 when a Minnesota State University senior design team reviewed possible corridor options and estimated a cost for the project at $2.5 million to $3 million.

Trails of this nature are funded through the state bonding process and grant programs. A 2009 request for $400,000 in state bonding funds for a trail planning study passed the House and Senate but was quashed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto.

Trail efforts were revived in 2011 and the DNR has committed to undertake a master planning process that will identify a broad corridor plan with built-in flexibility for trail alignments.

The trail would be 10 feet wide in most spots, widening to 12 feet in high-use areas and narrowing to 8 feet in low-use locations.

The effort is linked to a state goal of ultimately building a trail the length of the Minnesota River, while also connecting to a growing network of trails in and around Mankato.

The proposed Mankato/St. Peter trail would connect to the Sakatah Trail.

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