1-Color
March 6, 2014
50 cents Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 69, Issue 17 A publication of
westminsterwindow.com
MAKING THE EFFORT
Horizon freshman Kylie Jimenez walks back to the bench after the Hawks lost to Castle View in the second round of the state tournament Feb. 28 at Horizon High School. Photo by Kate Ferraro
Miles of new trails to traverse city By Ashley Reimers
areimers@coloradocommunitymedia. com Over five miles of new trails will be built this year in Westminster adding to over 80 miles of trails already established throughout the city. The additional trails are all off-road trails that will wind through open space areas and parks. Most additions are happening the northern part of the city and will connect with the current trail system. For instance, the Tanglewood Creek Trail is a north-south concrete trail from 121st Avenue to 128th Avenue between Delaware Street and I-25. The nearly one-mile 10-foot-wide trail will pass by Timberlake Pond and Willowbrook Park. Construction on the trail is 80 percent complete. Project manager Sarah Washburn said most of the trail will traverse through the Tanglewood Open Space area and is also part of the I-25 Regional trail. “This trail is a huge accomplishment for the city. It’s been on our priority list for many years,” she said. “We have amazing east and west trails, but we have very little direct north and south trails. So this trail gives people the opportunity to go through the city in the north or south direction. It’s a perfect example of filling a missing link.” Majority of the funding for the construc-
tion for the trail came from a $434,000 grant from Adams County. Washburn said the major construction will be done by early summer, but vegetation planting and maintenance will continue through summer and into the fall. In the future, the trail will extend a half mile further north to connect to Big Dry Creek Trail. “We will be paying close attention to the trail for at least a year and beyond,” she said. “The trail goes through a really nice wetland area. It will be a great place for people to go and discover new things in nature throughout the seasons because of the ecology along the trail.” More trail additions planned in the northeast area of the city are the McKay Creek Trail and I-25 Trail. The city plans to build a drainage channel between Huron Street and Interstate 25 at 140th Avenue, which will convey storm water from McKay Lake and the Huntington Trails subdivision and future new development in the area. A three-acre lake will also be built. Senior projects engineer Dave Loseman said a 10-foot wide concrete trail will be built from the 142nd Avenue/Huron Street underpass to I-25 and then south along I-25 to connect to the existing segment of the I-25 Regional Trail located along the east side of Lowe’s. The trail will eventually extend from the south end of Wal-Mart at 134th Avenue to Big Dry Creek Trail as part
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This year over 5 miles of trails will be built in Westminster, including the Tanglewood Creek Trail, which is under construction now, that will run through Willowbrook Park in northeast Westminster. Photo by Ashley Reimers
of a future project. “The I-25 Trail will be built from the lake at 140th Avenue north to 144th Avenue and will connect to the existing underpass to the I-25 Trail that already exists at the Orchard Town Center,” Loseman said. “The city is always working to provide more trails and more opportunities for people to travel, whether it’s by walking or commuter biking. These trails will eventually be pretty popular for people in the area.” Four more trails are also scheduled for construction in the city this year. The Orchard Town Center Detention Pond Trail, a half-mile concrete trail at the north of the shopping center near I-25 and 150th Av-
enue; Little Dry Creek Trail, a segment of the Little Dry Creek Trail between Federal and Lowell Boulevards to be built as part of the extensive storm water drainage project; Ranch Trail, a half-mile concrete trail that will connect the Ranch subdivision on the south side of 120th Avenue to the Big Dry Creek Trail on the north side of 120th Avenue; and the Lowell Boulevard Trail, a new half-mile trail to be built on the east side of Lowell Boulevard from 120th Avenue to 124th Avenue abutting the Metzger Farm Open Space. For more information on all trails in Westminster, visit www.ci.westminster. co.us.