Proposal

Proposal

by: Sam Harshman

           The Arkansas River Trail Systems, are some of the best organized bike trail systems in the United States.  The fifteen mile loop that follows the Arkansas River, on either side of the river, is the loop that will be focused on in this project.  The trail starts on the North Little Rock side of the river and heads northwest along the river.  Along the trail, are riverside parks, some remembering The Trail of Tears, others with exercise stations.  Eventually the trail enters Burns Park and heads due west.  The next stop, The Big Dam Bridge.  From here, Pinnacle Mountain can be seen to the northwest.  This is where the trail enters the Little Rock side of the river.  The trail starts to head back to the southeast to finish the journey.  It runs through two parks, Murray Park and Rebsamen Park, before it heads into downtown Little Rock.  Once the trail enters the downtown area, it sort of disappears and becomes streets.  However, signs do direct bikers which streets to take to get back on the trail.   Bikers feel uncomfortable and unsafe riding along streets with moving traffic. 

            The proposal for the trail is this: Continue the trail along the Little Rock river front instead of going downtown (leave that as an option.) Design a riverfront park along the bike trail.  This park would consist of the redevelopment of an old warehouse into a boardwalk, with shops and eateries, and connect it to the existing "Medical Mile."  From there design this trail to continue east to the Clinton Presidential Library, where it will then cross the Arkansas River, back to North Little Rock, across the Clinton Presidential Bridge.

            On this fifteen mile trail, there are only 2 bike shops.  Both owned by the same person and located straight across the river from each other in Little Rock and North Little Rock.  These bike shops are strictly bike shops and do not offer bikers/walkers anything else.

The proposal for the bike shop problem is this:  Design a bike center on the far west end of the bike trail that not only allows people outside the city to rent bikes easily, but serves as a rest stop for bikers/walkers that have been on the trail for a while.  This bike center would have a place where these people could get something to snack to gain energy, get something to drink to replenish fluids, and even just to sit down and get their breaths back.  This area would also house a little deli, for people who want more than to just replenish themselves, who maybe just want to eat lunch with their friends and family. 

            All in all, this project will not only close the loop to make a safer trail for bikers/walkers, but also, bring Little Rock and North Little Rock even closer.  Closer to each other and closer to the surrounding communities.  It will also solve issues for people who live outside of the cities, who do not own bikes, but would like to ride the magnificent trails.  The new shops and bike center would also open up new jobs for the local residents.