Detroit Lakes unveils multi-use trail options for Detroit Mountain connection

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The city of Detroit Lakes unveiled their preliminary plans on Tuesday to connect Detroit Mountain to the Heartland Trail system near East Shore Drive.

During a Aug. 29 public information open house, dozens of area residents showed up to voice their approval and concerns with the path connections.

Currently, the route would start near where the East Shore Drive trail head will eventually be installed and meander across Highway 10 to Tower Road and then to the Mountain.

Charles Chadbourne, a Detroit Lakes resident, said he thought the proposed trail was a waste of money and said, if bicyclists and trail enthusiasts want a trail to the mountain, they should pay for it themselves.

“The bikers don’t pay a dime,” said Chadbourne. “All they do is stick their hand out. They should raise their own money to help pay because, when you get around to maintenance, who’s going to pay for that. You and I and tax payer Joe. And for the amount of traffic that I’ve seen on it, I think it’s a waste of time.”

Jon Pratt, city engineer for Detroit Lakes, said the plans are in their infancy and the purpose of the open house was to talk with area residents to show them different designs and route options.

“This is the next step in trying to flush out preferred options, hurdles and stumbling blocks, things we’re going to have to get through,” said Pratt. “Can we build it? And then what is the planning level cost with this, so then you can start to develop some kind of a funding program, chasing grant dollars or state dollars, things of that nature.”

During the meeting, Pratt said he received a mix of positive and negative comments from residents about the proposed multi-use trail route, but he considers any feedback from residents at this stage valuable in crafting a design that will be supported by the community.

Dan Josephson, alderman third ward, said the proposed trail is still early in the process, but it is in keeping with plans laid by Becker County officials about 10 years ago.

“I think the route out to (Detroit Mountain) is still up in the air,” said Josephson. “I think it’s trying to find where that might be. The county had a plan back in 2012-13, somewhere in there, where they tried to indentify some place up Tower Road … to Detroit Mountain here, and this is kind of that next phase. I think any way you can get more people onto recreation trails is a good thing.”

The trail design team plans to incorporate some of the comments into the next phase of design and a preliminary project proposal is expected to be presented to the Detroit Lakes City Council in coming months.