Laserfiche WebLink
Because of strong public attraction to water resources, acquisition of any additional public water <br /> frontage identified in a Council-approved master plan should be given a very high priority. The high <br /> demand and rapidly escalating value of water frontage will only make those lands more costly in the <br /> future. The priority is to acquire water frontage lands when they are most affordable - when they are <br /> undeveloped or, at least, developed with less expensive homes. Trying to convert land with water <br /> frontage to public use after it's been fully developed is politically difficult and very expensive. <br /> Siting and Acquisition - Strategy 3: New regional trails must serve a regional audience <br /> and provide connections between regional parks, park reserves, and regional trails <br /> without duplicating an existing trail. <br /> To qualify for regional trail status, an existing or proposed trail: <br /> • must serve a regional audience, based on visitor origin and service-area research on regional <br /> trails <br /> • should not duplicate an existing trail, and <br /> • should connect two or more units of the Regional Parks System <br /> The trail may include part of an existing county or local trail if it is a destination itself, providing a high- <br /> quality recreation experience that traverses significant natural resource areas where the trail treadway <br /> will have no adverse impact on the natural resource base, and/or it links two or more units of the <br /> Regional Parks System. <br /> The regional trail system in the metropolitan area is like the highway system, with regional and local <br /> components. The regional component consists of trails in the regional trail system and state <br /> administered trails. These trails are complemented by shorter, local trails, which may eventually feed <br /> into units of the regional trail system. The opportunities for interesting regional trail recreation <br /> experiences are substantially enhanced where local trails intersect with or are reached by elements of <br /> the regional system. <br /> The Council has defined two major types of trails to serve the region: 1) destination or greenway trails <br /> and 2) linking trails. Destination or greenway trails typically follow along routes with high-quality natural <br /> resources, which make the trail itself a destination. Linking trails, on the other hand, are predominately <br /> intended to provide linkages between various Regional Parks System units, most notably regional <br /> parks or park reserves. <br /> Destination Regional Trails or Greenways should be located to reasonably maximize the amount of <br /> high-quality natural resources within the trail corridor boundaries. For destination regional trails or <br /> greenways, there should be no spacing minimums or maximums between them; instead, the decision <br /> to locate the trail should be based on the availability of existing high-quality natural resources or the <br /> opportunity to restore, enhance, protect, or re-create natural resources. <br /> The main criterion used to define regional parks and park reserves - the presence of high-quality <br /> natural resources - is also relevant to the location of a destination regional trail or greenway. Attractive <br /> settings contribute strongly to the quality of trail recreational experience. Since trails or greenways are <br />