Douglas County and its selected contractor, AAC will begin construction on the Pinery Loop Trail during the last week in October and continue construction through the end of the year. The GOCO grant for the project expires on December 31, 2010, so construction will end by that date.
Except for the existing hard surface trail at the bird sanctuary, the route of the loop trail runs entirely on Douglas County land and right-of-way, mainly along major roadways in the Pinery.
Douglas County notified residents whose property abuts the trail in the spring prior to the general hearing and approval by the DC Board of Commissioners in Castle Rock. DC is in the process of sending out another notice this week.
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- Provide a safer and more enjoyable way to walk along Pinery Parkway, through open spaces, to Bingham Lake, and along lower Lakeview Drive.
- Improve the health of Pinery residents who use the trail
- Provide a pedestrian/bicycle access to the Cherry Creek Trail via the tunnel under Parker Road. (Access to the tunnel is via the hard surface trail in front of the Pinery Country Club.)
- Increase Pinery residential property values. The trail and its improvements, along with improvements to the Pinery entrance on Parker Road, and to the medians along N Pinery Parkway are expected to have a positive effect on property values in the Pinery.
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The Route:
- Clockwise, the loop route begins at the Cherry Creek Regional Trail connector in front of the Pinery Country Club, crosses over and runs along Pinery Parkway (PP) from the RTD Park-and-Ride to the entrance to Pinery Pointe. The route begins again adjacent to PP just east of Windwood Way and continues on PP along the inside of the curve going up the long hill up to the slow side road of Windcrest Row (WR).
- There is no trail there, but pedestrians should find WR a safer route than walking on the side of PP. At the uphill end of WR the route starts again adjacent to PP and proceeds to the Douglas County land south of Mountain View Elementary. Where the land opens up, the trail then travels cross-country and southeast to the intersection of Lakeview Drive and Pine Hollow Drive (PHD). The trail runs on the asphalt of PHD and there is no separate soft-surface trail there, similarly to WR. The route proceeds along PHD and then makes a right turn on Lightening View Drive. The route jumps off the road shortly after that and goes cross-country through the large plot of Douglas County Land that drains into Bingham Lake. The trail route goes around the earthen berm, continues through the grass and connects with the existing path at the PHA’s Lakeshore Park.
- Crossing N Thunderhill Road, the route joins with the existing trail around Bingham Lake. The trail along Lakeshore Drive is the shortest; the southern route along High Prairie Farms at the Lake is a bit longer, but they will meet up with the picnic area at the Northwest corner of the Lake. This recreational facility is maintained by Douglas County and contains a parking area, dock, and continues to provide access to Bingham Lake to many Pinery Residents.
- The route proceeds along Lakeshore Drive from the intersection with the Bingham Lake access road up to Lakeview Drive, where it makes an inside left turn and remains off-road until it reaches the low-traffic road/street parking area of Fairway Ridge.
- The route continues through the paved area at Fairway Ridge and connects with a new trail surface alongside Lakeview Drive (LD) at the low end of Fairway Ridge. That trail route proceeds in the Douglas County right-of-way along LD to connect with the Cherry Creek Regional Trail connector that goes under Parker Road.
The loop is about four and a half miles in total and signage will be included along the route. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me,
Thank you to all of the Pinery residents who have supported this project over the years.
Sincerely,
Tom Kimball
303-841-1846 |