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Meeting gathers input on McGregor, Marquette trail expansion

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Dennis Mason and Mel Wild were among the Marquette and McGregor area residents who shared their input on connectivity within, between and outside the two communities during a trail planning meeting May 24. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

Residents in and around Marquette and McGregor were invited to share their input on connectivity within, between and outside the two communities during a trail planning meeting May 24.

 

The meeting was part of the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program, which this year includes Marquette and McGregor as two of its 10 communities. The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation, in partnership with Iowa State University Landscape Architecture and Trees Forever, and will help local leaders identify and prioritize projects to enhance their transportation systems.

 

In March, a series of focus groups—which included people of varying ages, abilities and interests—was held in each community to gauge transportation assets and barriers. Trails emerged as a prominent topic in both Marquette and McGregor.

 

The visioning steering committee, landscape architects and other program organizers hoped last week’s trail planning meeting could help pinpoint where trails would be most beneficial, what resources and amenities would be best to connect to and highlight and what types of trails would be best suited and desired.

 

“This is the first time we’ve done a community where we have two working together with that idea of connectivity. This is a great chance to see how we can link people together—to bring people together like this and also how we can make that physical in the landscape with the idea of using trails,” said Chad Hunter, a project manager with Iowa State University’s Institute for Design Research & Outreach.

 

“In Marquette, people are looking at how can we do things a little differently. Is there potential for going out over the bluff or connecting to the river? Lots of people said it would mean so much to be connected and have that trail linking us, or being able to utilize the river or going places beyond the community—connecting to places like Effigy Mounds and Pikes Peak,” Hunter added. “The same in McGregor, where people were talking about how important the river is and there’s got to be a way to do more with that and really celebrate what you have in your community. So we thought it made sense to have this interim meeting.”

 

Those same themes emerged as community members gathered around maps and noted potential connections. Within McGregor, there was a desire for additional access to nearby Pikes Peak State Park as well as connecting other parts of town to West McGregor, particularly Turner Park. Within Marquette, there was a desire to link neighborhoods to one another but also to the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, Bloody Run County Park and even Effigy Mounds National Monument.

 

Especially, though, participants want to link Marquette and McGregor to one another. While this could include over the bluff, similar to the already-existing Marquette bench evacuation route, a larger push is via the riverfront, reviving a long-held dream of a trail along the Mississippi River.

 

Said one participant, “I feel like our missing piece is that stretch.”

 

Hunter acknowledged the two communities have some constraints: a narrow riverfront and places with right of way constraints, including the road, bluff and railroad. 

 

“Those elements are things we have to consider, and we have some of those elements in maps to talk about. ‘Where is there room? Where do we have the ability to add to things?’” Hunter shared. “And the railroad, it’s not only a right of way thing, but it’s also where do we cross it.”

 

In some ways, suggested a landscape architect, the railroad has even disconnected the communities from their riverfronts. 

 

Trail plans must additionally contend with steep bluffs—and the debris that falls from them—as well as terrain that can, at times, be challenging.

 

But terrain, and the corresponding views it reveals, can also be an asset, according to Hunter.

 

“It’s something to explore. It changes what people think and experience here,” he said. “We want to know those hidden, unique moments.”

 

Other assets include natural amenities both in town and in the Marquette and McGregor outskirts. There are existing entertainment and shopping opportunities, and history is on display through community architecture but also effigy mounds. Then, the river, of course, is a draw.

 

“There are things to bring people to town already, so how can we enhance that connection,” Hunter said. “You do have some existing trails, and we want to see where those are, how you’re utilizing them and how we can expand that.”

 

Hunter said trails could be both on street and off road—for example, over water or on the bluffs. Trails not only connect areas but celebrate the destinations and landmarks they reach, and that identity can be built into wayfinding aspects.

 

At this stage, it’s OK if trail ideas are impractical, Hunter stated. He showed the High Trestle Trail in central Iowa as an example.

 

“It’s in the middle of nowhere Iowa and it got built. It is something that brings people from all over the world,” Hunter said. “Being able to have those big visions—I realize that can be tricky when we start to think about price tags—but I hope we can dream about them because there are things that can come into play. Even in Iowa small towns, these things do happen.”

 

Input gathered from this and previous meetings will be valuable as Marquette and McGregor complete design workshops with landscape architects.

 

It’s here, said Hunter, “where we work out what could be, what it could look like, how do they get developed. This is a great stepping stone.”

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