RRVT News
Raccoon River Valley Trail Association announces a campaign to raise more than $2 million to help fund the 33-mile addition to the RRVT, plus five miles of resurfacing on the oldest portion of the current trail, and other amenities. Can you help?
PERRY, Iowa, September 25, 2008 – The Raccoon River Valley Trail Association is making a special appeal to its members and to other users and supporters of the trail, hoping to raise $2 million or more to help pay for development of a major addition and improvements to the RRVT.
“We are approaching a very significant time in the development phase” of the trail, the association says in a special letter, which you can read by clicking here.
Donations and grants will be used as matching money for a possible grant from the Vision Iowa Program’s Community Attraction & Tourism fund, through which the State of Iowa distributes receipts from the gambling industry.
The project would add a 33.1-mile hard-surfaced “North Loop” to the existing 56 miles of paved trail on the RRVT, which is located in west central Iowa and connects to the metro trail system of the capital city of Des Moines.
Also included in the project will be the resurfacing of the oldest portion of the current trail, the five miles of 19-year-old asphalt between Panora and Yale. And it will add campgrounds, camping cabins, railroad depot restorations and other amenities.
At 89 miles, the RRVT will then be one of the longest hard-surfaced recreational trails in the U.S.
But its most unusual feature will be that it features a 72-mile loop. That is expected to draw many more cyclists and other trail users, as the RRVT becomes a major “destination trail.” And that is expected to inspire lots of new private developments catering to trail users.
All 14 town governments and/or community associations along the 89-mile route have made financial commitments to the project, as have the governments in the three counties the RRVT includes. They all are seeking additional grants from state and federal government sources, too.
Meanwhile, members of the RRVT Association board of directors are now contacting individuals, corporations and organizations asking for donations.
Please take time to read a more complete explanation in the special letter from the RRVT Association board of directors, which, again, you can access by clicking here.
The letter contains instructions on how you can make a contribution now, and how you can reach the association if you would like more information or want to be contacted.
“This trail addition will be put together one piece of the puzzle at a time,” the letter says. “How do we complete the entire puzzle? Well, with everyone pitching in together.”
Article Published: 09-25-2008
