RELEASE: Industrial Foundation, Trails Alliance, City of Danville collaborate to create mountain bike park/trail
Danville, KY (January 11, 2018) – The Boyle County Industrial Foundation’s board of directors unanimously approved two perpetual trail easements at its board meeting on Thursday, January 11, that makes possible the creation of a mountain bike park on land within BCIF’s Enterprise Center development, located in the John Hill Bailey Industrial Park at the intersection of Lebanon Road and the US 127/150 Bypass in Danville. The BCIF board’s vote punctuates a lengthy period of visioning, discussion, planning, and negotiation for the land to be used as an enhancement to the community’s popular trail system.
Mark Morgan and Rob Caldwell represented the Boyle Trails Alliance in this collaboration with BCIF, in addition to Danville City Attorney Stephen Dexter. The easements will be granted by BCIF to the City of Danville to construct and maintain the park and trails. This community collaboration was made possible in part due to the working relationships of BCIF, the City of Danville, and the Danville-Boyle County Convention & Visitors Bureau through the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership. The CVB has been an active force in the Trails Alliance.
Much of the park will be located at the end of Stewarts Lane North on 4.643 acres adjacent to Wilderness Trace Child Development Center. An additional 1.446 acres accessible from Lebanon Road will be utilized for visitor parking. The remainder of the park and trails will be secured with additional easements already approved by Heritage Hospice and Honeywell Intelligrated.
The park will contain a single-track loop trail generally following the lay of the land along Clark’s Run. The trail will make use of low-lying, wooded areas along the creek that are subject to flooding. The flooding occurs within the natural floodway of the creek and renders them not readily usable for industrial development. The trail is intended to open up the natural area along Clark’s Run in this area, previously inaccessible, for pedestrian enjoyment. It is anticipated that the trail will result in additional protections to the natural environment along Clark's Run.
BCIF Secretary Walter Goggin and Chairman John Albright were instrumental in the negotiations for the park plans to proceed. Goggin commented: “The Trails Alliance folks were great to work with, and this unique resource provides yet another wellness and recreation opportunity for our community and our industry employees. BCIF is glad to be a part of it.”
Mark Morgan of the Trails Alliance commented: “This is a great example of cooperation between our city, our Industrial Foundation, Honeywell Intelligrated, Heritage Hospice, and the Boyle Trails Alliance. This trail will allow mountain bikers to ride and all of us to walk and run in a beautiful, natural area near downtown. This will be an exciting addition to our community.”
The Boyle County Industrial Foundation is private, non-profit corporation and a Partner in the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership. Established in 1961, BCIF’s primary mission is the acquisition, development, and management of industrial parks for the prospective location and growth of business and industry in Danville and Boyle County.
