Fort Smith seeks advice from public on trails

FORT SMITH — Fort Smith leaders want the public to weigh in on where future trails should be built.

A citizen-led committee recently updated Fort Smith's 10-year-old Trails and Greenways Master Plan, which proposed expanding a 10-mile trail system to one covering 87 miles.

The Southwest Times Record newspaper reported Friday that the panel is suggesting 35 miles of trails and bike lanes along "connected, continuous and contiguous" routes. They would connect the riverfront, Chaffee Crossing and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The panel hold open houses Jan. 8 and 13.

Committee chairman Drew Linder said the entire system would cost up to from $9.5 million to $17 million. The city's long-range budget proposes spending $700,000 on trails in 2017.

The city board has also discussed asking for a tax increase.

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