COEUR d’ALENE — With several new walking and bicycle trails being added to the city’s 23-mile trail repertoire, the City Council this month approved a plan for a $75,000 piece of equipment to maintain the public’s paved paths.

The Toolcat UTV made by Bobcat will assist the city in trail maintenance that is mostly completed now with a Kubota tractor.

“To be more efficient and not have to hire more staff, if we get better equipment, we won’t be so maxed out with the equipment we have,” said Monte McCully, city of Coeur d’Alene trails coordinator.

Earlier this month, the Council approved the park department’s plan to chase a $60,000 grant to help pay for the industrial-grade Toolcat. The additional $15,000 would be funded through the parks department budget. If it’s awarded, the city could buy the Toolcat this fall.

Since 1980, when the state transportation department built the first highway trail in Idaho along U.S. 95 in Coeur d’Alene, 48 miles of paved shared-use paths have been built in the city, McCully said. Of those, 23 miles are maintained by city employees.

Last year, three more miles of paved trail were added along Seltice Way.

In addition, the city will take over maintenance of the 3½ miles of U.S. 95 trail between Appleway and Prairie avenues next year when the state rebuilds the trail as part of its U.S. 95 project, McCully said.

The city, which mows, sweeps, repairs and plows snow on its own 23 trail miles, has not maintained the Idaho Transportation Department trail. As a prerequisite to taking over the trail’s maintenance, the city will have ITD rebuild the trail, McCully said.

“If we were going to take it over, we wanted it to be rebuilt,” McCully said. “That was part of the driver for that project.”

According to new state policy, the Idaho Transportation Department will no longer build trails unless it has a maintenance agreement with municipalities.

“We’ll keep it plowed, keep it mowed, people will be able to use it,” McCully said.

The Council also approved the parks department to apply for a $106,000 grant to help pay for the trail along Spokane River frontage at the city’s Atlas site. Ignite cda will kick in the remaining $200,000 to complete the trail, which is part of the Atlas Mill site project.