Columbia Falls scales back bike path

Plans for a paved walking and bike path from Columbus Park to River’s Edge Park took a primitive turn Monday night after the Columbia Falls City Council learned of the project’s cost.

The city initially wanted a path that would run down the slope to connect the two parks. CMG Engineering studied the slope and indicated it would take five switchbacks with five rest areas and 600 feet of retaining wall to create a paved bike path.

The cost would run about $600,000, City Manager Bill Shaw noted.

The city had budgeted about $150,000 for the project, the bulk of that a grant from the federal government.

To use the federal funding, the path would need to be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The council decided to scrap the plan for a paved path and embrace a suggestion by Shaw  to create a “pioneer trail.”

That trail has a far lower price tag — about $40,000 — and can utilize volunteer labor. The path would be more primitive and would use only city money.

The federal funding would then be shifted to lower portions of the trail system, which wouldn’t require as much infrastructure to complete.

Mayor Don Barnhart worried about the liabilities of a primitive trail if someone was injured, but Shaw said he consulted with the city’s insurance and as long as the trail was properly signed as a primitive path, there were no liability issues.

Council member Dave Petersen also noted that primitive hiking paths were a way of life in Montana.