Ground is being cleared at the UAF campus for walking trails in the woods in an area that up until now has been the exclusive domain of cross-country skiers.
UAF Chancellor Steve Jones in late November approved a three-phase plan to create the new trail system. The network will include upgraded existing trails, as well as more than three miles of new trails, many of them parallel to existing ski trails.
It is designed to minimize conflicts among multiple trail users at UAF, including those who walk with or without dogs, and those who cross-country ski or snowshoe.
Crews with the university's facility services have begun clearing trees and brush to make way for 6-foot-wide walking trails alongside the existing ski trails on the West Ridge, said Rich Boone, North Campus subcommittee chairman.
The plan is to have walking trails to the T-Field and to the large satellite dish completed this winter.
The university also wants to begin work on widening the Pooch Loop trails, a dog-friendly area off Farmers Loop, this year. However, Luke Hopkins, UAF North Campus manager, said that particular area of campus might be classified as wetlands and so any work would need authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The new walking trails will be separated from the existing ski trails by snow berms, fences or some other barrier. The new walking trails shouldn't affect the existing ski trails, Boone said.
"Some skiers were very concerned that we would be taking ski trails out of North Campus," Boone said. "We didn't do that. Every foot of ski trail is still in place. We didn't take any ski trails out to accommodate foot trails."
Boone said the North Campus subcommittee worked closely with members of the ski community on campus as well as those who wanted more trails for walkers. The intention was to create a design that would work for both user groups.
"Skiers recognized that there should be an opportunity for people to walk in the North Campus," Boone said. "And walkers were quite respectful of the needs of skiers."
