The Walking/Bike Trail Study in Cut Bank is underway and has submitted their findings and results of the project thus far. The Walking/Bike Trail Study was a 2011 Incubator Mini Grant Project and has not concluded yet, so check back later for more updates on the project’s progress.
To sum up the project, this study was meant “To perform a feasibility study on a walking/bike trail in the Cut Bank area,” reaching a target population of 3,000 people.
So far, they have found that a Walking/Bike Trail in the Cut Bank area is feasible through grants, donations and local volunteer efforts. Partner organizations include: City of Cut Bank, Glacier County, Blackfeet Tribe, Glacier Electric Co-Op, NCI Engineering, Mountainview Energy Ltd., Frontline Ag, Sweetgrass Development, Cut Bank Chamber of Commerce, and Peterson, Peterson, and Shors.
A Cut Bank Trails committee was formed in the spring of 2011 with the purpose of creating a walking/bike trail in the Cut Bank area. This trail would provide outdoor recreational opportunity, thus enhancing the quality of life in the community, and would provide pedestrian access to many of the other recreational/community facilities Cut Bank has to offer. The committee has since incorporated as Cut Bank Trails, Inc. and is in the final stages of attaining its official nonprofit status (501(c)3). It was determined that a feasibility study was needed to get the project off the ground. In the fall of 2011, NCI Engineering was hired to perform the study and to develop a master plan for the project. NCI’s Lyle Meeks, a charter member of the River’s Edge Train in Great Falls has been working with Cut Bank Trails, Inc and the City of Cut Bank, throughout the past year to develop the master plan and to bring the feasibility study to completion. RHI Incubator funds will be used to help offset the costs of this study. The total cost will be $22,000, with RHI providing $2,000 to be applied toward this total.
For questions or to request more information about Cut Bank’s Walking/Bike Trail, please contact:
Wade Swenson
313 14th Ave SE, Cut Bank, MT 59427
Phone: 406.845.4234
E-mail: swenson1@bresnan.net