Staff recommends the City Council approve submitting a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant to provide funding for the BBWA Canal Connection trail and authorize the Planning Division to submit the grant application due February 1, 2021. 

The City of Billings is seeking Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant funding for the BBWA Canal Connection Trail. This trail will be located north of the BBWA Canal between 21st St. W and Woody Dr. The trail will be constructed on a parcel of land owned by the City and platted for a "bike path" in the St. Thomas Subdivision. The Subdivision Improvement Agreement from St. Thomas Subdivision states that the trail construction "will be completed by the City at some point in the future..." This trail connection is also identified in the Billings Area Bikeway and Trails Master Plan from 2016 and is part of the number two priority trail one day envisioned along the BBWA canal from 6th Ave. N to Transtech Way. 

The RTP grant is designated for the development of recreational trails and facilities to serve those trails. Grants are available for up to $100,000. The RTP grant provides reimbursement after monies have been expended. The grant requires a local match totaling 20% of the overall project cost. The local match cannot exceed 25% of the overall project cost. The local match will come from an enhanced crossing constructed by the City of Billings Public Works Department (see below for further information) and from funds that non-profit Billings TrailNet used to pay for preliminary engineering. 

This currently unimproved trail connection is already used informally by neighbors in the area. If this RTP application is funded, it will be used to construct a 10-ft. wide hard-surface shared-use path through the corridor. The path will connect via accessible ramps to 21st St. W and Woody Dr. By constructing a hard-surface path, the trail will become more accessible to people with disabilities and seniors, many of whom live in the senior living facilities next to the future trail.

This project has many benefits. It will create a connection to Rose Park. As mentioned, it is close to a couple of senior living facilities and will give seniors a safe place to walk away from traffic. With St. Francis School and an affordable housing complex run by the Housing Authority of Billings nearby, the trail will benefit diverse populations in our community. In addition to the trail, Public Works Engineering has committed to constructing an enhanced crossing at the intersection of 24th St. W and Solomon Ave. This location was identified as needing improvement in the Billings Area Bikeway and Trails Master Plan. This enhanced crossing will enable more residents who live across 24th St. W to access the new trail and Rose Park safely and without needing to use a car. The funding for this enhanced crossing will come from the City's "Annual Pedestrian Crossings" set-aside in the Capital Improvement Plan. As a result, the funding for this crossing is already allocated in the Capital Improvement Plan, and no additional funds will need to be allocated. 

City Council may:

• Approve, the submittal of a Recreational Trails Program Grant for the BBWA Canal Connection trail, or;
• Disapprove the submittal of a Recreational Trails Program Grant for the BBWA Canal Connection trail. 

There is no disadvantage to the City in submitting this grant application. If the grant is not awarded, staff will continue to look for other options to fund the BBWA Canal Connection trail. 

This Recreational Trails Program grant application is being written to provide funding for the construction of the .27 mile BBWA Canal Connection Trail. The City of Billings will apply for up to $100,000, depending on the engineer's cost estimate for the trail construction. Twenty percent of the total project cost must be provided as match. The City of Billings Public Works Department will provide an enhanced crossing valued between $15,000-$18,000 as match. Funds for the enhanced crossing will come from the enhanced crossing set-aside in the City's Capital Improvement Plan, and already programmed in the Public Works Department Budget. No additional City funds will be allocated. Billings TrailNet also already paid $5,000 for preliminary engineering services for the trail segment, which can also be counted as match for the grant.