TRAIL: An economic boost

We recently traveled to Whitefish for a family reunion. Upon arrival, we headed to a bike shop. We asked the owner about bicycle trails in the area. His response? If it was bike trails that we wanted, we should go to Coeur d’Alene.

Those of us who work in downtown Coeur d’Alene recognize that hundreds of “cycle tourists” now frequent our city. The Route of the Hiawatha, The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and the Centennial Trail are magnets for these tourists. They experience trestles, tunnels, bridges and long sections of trail along waterways and roadless areas. Does any other community in the U.S. have so many trail miles?

These tourists spend money for hotels, motels, campgrounds, RV parks, restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, grocery stores, drug stores, retail stores, bike shops, gas stations, bicycle shops, etc. And this is a “clean” industry that does virtually no damage to our infrastructure or environment.

ITD is proposing to rebuild the current Highway Trail from Ironwood north to Highway 53 and to pave the trail from Highway 53 north to the county line. The state and feds will pay the $3.2 million total cost for both projects. But only if local governments will agree to maintain the newly built trails.

This construction will jump-start the decades-long dream of connecting Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint with a trail.

Please ask the county commissioners to support this proposal.

TERRY GODBOUT

North Idaho Centennial Trail Commission