No Filter: Bike trails across Washington County

FEATURE — Join co-hosts Paul Ford and Grady Sinclair along with special guest Erik Buckner Holmquist from 99.9 Kony Country on a journey across parts of Washington County as they explore over 50 miles of paved walking and biking trails in this episode of the “No Filter Show.”

Southern Utah’s nearly year-round access to the outdoors, coupled with its beautiful natural resources, has made the area a mecca for outdoor recreation, including walking, running and biking along its miles of paved paths.

Walking and biking paths stretch from Coral Canyon in Washington City all the way to the Bloomington area of St. George. They can also be found in other parts of St. George, along portions of state Route 18 and in communities such as Santa Clara and Ivins.

St. George has been leading the charge to create an active transportation plan – which includes creating more infrastructure for biking and walking paths – since the creation of the St. George Active Transportation Committee in 2014.

“One of the reasons I live here, and one of the reasons why I’m so excited about St. George is because of our trail system,” said St. George Mayor Jon Pike.

Watch the video up top.

In January, the St. George City Council unanimously approved and adopted the committee’s proposed active transportation plan which is designed to promote biking and walking as viable modes of transportation.

According to the active transportation plan, around 40 percent of the city’s population is either under 16 years old or over 70. These are individuals, the plan says, who are either unable or less likely to drive. Facets of the active transportation plan are geared toward these populations.

Currently 155 miles of paved and unpaved trails, as well as bike lanes and shared vehicle/bike roadways, exist in St. George. The active transportation plan recommends increasing that to 344.5 miles.

Though St. George is leading the way, many of the surrounding municipalities are following suit, with most of the cities in Washington County receiving Road Respect designations, meaning they are taking a proactive approach to being cycling friendly and teaching mutual respect between cyclists and motorists.

With prestigious sporting events such as the St. George Marathon, The Huntsman World Senior Games and Ironman 70.3 North American Pro Championship all being held in the area, having a large network of trails to train on is a huge asset for the city and county as well.

Resources

“No Filter Show” Episode 142

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • Caveat_Emptor May 29, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    St George has an exceptional network of biking/walking paths covering the city very well, and connecting to adjacent cities. Unfortunately, once you leave St. George City Limits, the network is not as well defined/supported.
    Snow Canyon Parkway, all the way out to Ivins, has a terrific pathway to keep folks safe from traffic. Once in Ivins, things taper off along Center St. Fortunately, there are wide streets with decent bike lanes marked to get to your destination.
    Santa Clara made a significant effort along Highway 91, and provided a very safe alternative to the bike lane. However, it essentially dies at the Ivins City line…..
    Washington City has a few stretches along the Virgin River that are great, but there is no safe connection to Coral Canyon.
    Coral Canyon has its own internal network of trails, which are fine, but good luck safely riding, or walking, to the Washington City trail system. Telegraph Road features cars and trucks typically exceeding the posted speed limit, and the north bound shoulder often has junk that has fallen from passing trucks going to the County Landfill.
    The good news is that we have some well defined, and very safe, alternatives to sharing the road with cars and trucks.
    The opportunity to improve inter-city connections is something that local city planners are well aware of.

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