Guest writer

Commentary: Razorback Greenway shows spirit of collaboration

Razorback Greenway shows spirit of collaboration

We've all heard the adage, "It takes a village." But in the case of the Razorback Greenway, it took a region. This project has been a model for regional collaboration from Day 1.

We are good at working together in Northwest Arkansas -- the regional airport and wayfinding signage system are great examples of how we think beyond city boundaries. Planners, funders, city leaders and others came together to envision this trail project that would transform landscapes and lives in Northwest Arkansas.

The Razorback Greenway is much more than a concrete trail. It's a safe route to school for children. It's a gym with no monthly fees. It's a peaceful space in a bustling world.

Because the Razorback Greenway is no ordinary trail, the pathway to May 2 was no ordinary construction project. Everyone involved knew the celebration needed to be much more than a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony on a weekday afternoon.

I submit that no single event in Northwest Arkansas has been embraced so thoroughly by the region. The Northwest Arkansas Council was honored to choreograph an event that engaged so many partners. City parks departments, Ozark Off-Road Cyclists, Jo and Scott Rampy, the Jones Center and the Illinois River Watershed Partnership all led bike rides. Mayors from every city cleared their calendars not just for their own city kickoffs, but for the regional celebration in downtown Springdale.

Speaking of Springdale, the city put its best foot forward. City departments worked together to make Shiloh Square look better than it has in years. Amber and Jonathan Perrodin from Team Springdale toiled for weeks to help create a successful event. Police and fire departments assisted to ensure that the event was safe for everyone. And the Springdale School District rushed to get its first set of school bikes, donated by the Walton Family Foundation, assembled and fitted for students to ride through the ribbon on May 2.

If you attended on Saturday, you saw Emma Avenue evolve into a giant bike parking lot. More than 300 bikes lined racks loaned by All Sports Productions and watched over by bike valets from Youth Strategies.

The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History organized more than a dozen history and horticultural walks along the greenway and in multiple cities, and it hosted visitors on its picturesque trailside grounds with live music and volunteers dressed in period costume. The Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks gave away free bike helmets, taught kids skills at a bike rodeo and helped ensure safe bike rides from the Jones Center.

May 2 was perhaps the most multi-modal Northwest Arkansas has ever been. People arrived to downtown Springdale on foot, by bike, by train, by bus and by car. Ozark Regional Transit offered free routes to the events throughout the day, allowing cyclists to board with bikes. Train rides to Springdale from Fayetteville and Rogers were packed with smiling kids, bike riders and pedestrians. The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad made sure passengers arrived in time for the ribbon cutting and had a wonderful experience from rails to trails.

Some of my favorite moments were the unplanned ones. A colorful sign at Thornbury Subdivision along the trail in Springdale wished everyone, "Happy Trails." A small church on the trail put out a cooler full of water bottles for humans and a bowl full of cold water for their furry friends. Dick Trammel and Chris Wyrick led the crowd in a resounding Hog Call to dedicate the Razorback Regional Greenway.

The list of thank you's owed for this event would take up an entire section of this paper. Nonprofits, media teams, public agencies -- they all worked together to help celebrate the birth of this important regional trail, but let's not forget the people without whom there would be no opportunity for a grand opening party.

The Walton Family Foundation's $15 million gift, paired with a $15 million federal TIGER II grant, made this trail possible. Past trail projects in Fayetteville and Bentonville linked with new construction to create the greenway spine for a regional trail system that includes more than 100 miles of paved pathways.

Of the dozens of people who were thanked on May 2 for contributing to the Razorback Greenway, one group was missed. This greenway would have no significance without users who embrace the trail -- those runners, walkers and cyclists who are out there every day, rain or shine, giving life to the Razorback Greenway.

How cool was Saturday? I say let's do it again in a couple of weeks, or maybe it'd be safer to start prepping for the greenway's first birthday. Get ready, May 2016!

Commentary on 05/11/2015

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