SLT Phase 1

Steering Committee Meeting 2 Presentation

[attach document]

Proposed PMSA position, drafted by Mike Bellamy

Main Points

PMSA is very supportive of the work being done on the SLT. While any and all improvements to the trail certainly benefit the community, PMSA hopes that the SLT steering committee may consider to place special emphasis on certain areas of the trail as it is our impression that the following sections would have the most potential to bring positive and sustainable economic benefit to the downtown business district.

PMSA Priority Area of SLT #1: Downtown (areas 12 and 13 on the map)

Linking Memorial Park to a linear park and greenway along the outlet behind main street feels like money well spent. If a primary goal of the project is to link the lake with the village, as expressed in the grant application, then having nice parking/seating/signage in areas 12 and 13 makes a lot of sense. Converting some of the current parking lot into a green hub on the trail would help drive spending to the downtown businesses. While there are opportunities for visitors to park their vehicles and access the trail at multiple locations, we hope that the steering committee may consider to make downtown the primary access point for the SLT. Having guests start/stop their visit at a well-appointed downtown parking area leads to a higher likelihood that these guests will eat/drink/shop downtown.


PMSA Priority Area of SLT #2: Federal Street Kayak Landing (Area 6)

We warmly embrace efforts that encourage residents and guests on Silver Lake to explore downtown Perry via the water. With the proliferation of kayaks and paddle craft on the lake in recent years, having a simple landing area at a suitable place along the outlet withing 500 feet of Federal street dam would allow easy access to downtown businesses during the Summer months. Both the Silver Lake State Park and Perry Village Beach have kayak launching facilities. As such, the Federal Street Trailhead could be more of a “landing” rather than “launching” area. Meaning the loading/unloading of paddle craft to/from vehicles could be encouraged to take place at the Village Beach or State Park, rather than use the grant to build additional parking at Federal street.

PMSA would like to work w SLT to ensure that the kayak landing is a safe distance from the spillway and that there is a means of securing craft at the landing so that guests need not worry about theft or craft floating off. In the future, when the outlet is dredged and walker road bridge raised, there may also be the potential to bring smaller powerboats into the landing. But for the moment, it feels reasonable to focus on paddle craft.

PMSA Priority Area of SLT #3: Connectivity from Federal Trailhead to Downtown

PMSA support’s the Village of Perry’s desire to use some of the grant money to improve sidewalks and pedestrian crossings in the village. PMSA is confident that the village and the SLT steering committee will balance the pros/cons of the various route options (listed as 6,7,8, 9 and 10 on the map). As such, PMSA does not have a specific recommendation for the actual route, but we simply hope the route will be well marked and easy for tourists to find their way between the Federal Trailhead and Downtown.

It would be an added bonus if the SLT grant could somehow be used as a catalyst for the formalization of the “Art Alley behind main street” concept which has been floating around.

related files:

  1. steering committee meeting 2 presentation
  2. 04-13-2020 Meeting Summary
  3. 04-28-2020 Meeting Summary
  4. Compressed presentation

COMMENTS FROM RACHEL

This is what I’d like to suggest for the downtown trail route….Make a loop from Federal to Lake, Lake to Center, Center to Mill, Mill to Main - Main to Covington, Covington to Leicester, Leicester to Lake, Lake to Federal.

Below is the break down I received to create an estimate for the loop…

All options are for getting both bikes and peds to downtown. The estimates for 1+1B and 1+1C are for bikes and peds on the same route, while 1+1A has them on the same route to get to the five point intersection and then separating the bikes and peds between there and downtown. Here is a breakdown that hopefully will help clarify:

Option 1+1A (Total cost - $227,000)

Accommodations for both bikes and peds along Federal and Lake to the five point intersection. (Option 1 - $161,430)

Pedestrians along Lake and bikes along Leicester and Covington. (Option 1A - $65,260)

Option 1+1B (Total cost - $284,000)

Accommodations for both bikes and peds along Federal and Lake to the five point intersection. (Option 1 - $161,430)

Pedestrians and bikes along Center, Mill and Main. (Option 1B - $122,378)

Option 1+1C (Total cost - $227,000)

Accommodations for both bikes and peds along Federal and Lake to the five point intersection. (Option 1 - $161,430)

Pedestrians and bikes along Lake. (Option 1C - $65,260)

For each section, we assume the accommodations for bikes would cost relatively the same, although we know there will be some differences. We estimated those to be about $40,000. So if there is a desire to create a loop, that could probably be done for an additional $40,000 on top of the original costs.

What I would like to suggest…

Option 1 - Accommodations for both bikes and peds along Federal and Lake to the five point intersection. (Option 1 - $161,430)

+1A - Leicester and Covington. (Option 1A - $40,000 (bike estimate) (I don’t know how much the pedestrian section is but the sidewalks are pretty good through there so maybe add $10,000 for crossing updates?)

+1B - Pedestrians and bikes along Center, Mill and Main. (Option 1B - $122,378)

$333,808 - Estimate for the loop from Federal to Lake, Lake to Center, Center to Mill, Mill to Main - Main to Covington, Covington to Leicester, Leicester to Lake, Lake to Federal.