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7.1 PRSR 09-09-2020 The Elk River Vision A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity Request for Action To Parks and Recreation Commission Item Number 7.1 Agenda Section Discussion Meeting Date September 9, 2020 Prepared by Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director Item Description Hillside Park Trail Improvements Reviewed by Cal Portner, City Administrator Reviewed by Action Requested Discuss the MORC partnership trail improvements at Hillside Park. Background/Discussion Staff continues to enjoy our partnership efforts with Minnesota Off Road Cyclists (MORC). MORC volunteers, led by Graydon Betts, identify trail needs and improvement opportunities and meet with our staff on a regular basis. Staff has been very pleased with the recent trail features and overall feedback we have received from residents who use Hillside City Park. Graydon provided a comprehensive description of the volunteer activities. Please review the attachment as he intends to keep his presentation brief to concentrate on answering any questions. Financial Impact N/A Attachments  MORC Partnership Activities 2020 Hillside Park Singletrack & MORC Partnership Activities, 2020 Trail Improvement Planning for 2020 Timeline:  November 2019 – MORC volunteers from Hillside Park and Bertram Chain of Lakes in Monticello (these trails share many of the same volunteers) met to identify trail needs and improvement opportunities at both parks.  December 2019 - The Hillside trail stewards met with Elk River Parks to communicate these plans, and discuss park business including the CSAH 12 construction project.  May 2020 – Feature plan options were presented to park staff, some materials provided by the city.  July 2020 – present: The volunteers execute the plan for 2020 work on the trail. Trail Work Prioritization: The volunteer group discussed the main priority was to mitigate and resolve the identified three significant issues (below) and to keep up general maintenance. Additionally, based on feedback and rider demand, the group discussed building some smaller challenge features as time and resources allowed. What is a trail feature? A trail feature is something that is engineered or constructed to manipulate the natural environment for a given purpose. It may be dirt, rock, or a wooden structure. It may be used to address or prevent erosion, corral or guide riders away from sensitive areas, provide a technical challenge to riders, or help communicate the difficulty level at the entrance of a trail area. Constructed technical challenge features on singletrack trails are indicated with the same rating system as ski trails (green circle = beginner, blue square = intermediate, black diamond = advanced). In areas not marked as “advanced/most difficult”, constructed features are built to be optional to ride, and not mandatory to ride for trail users to continue on the trail. MORC volunteers have not installed any mandatory technical challenge structures at Hillside City Park. Other Definitions:  Trail Tread – the compacted surface of the singletrack trail.  Dirt Grade Reversal – mounds of dirt for erosion control to keep water off the trail tread, can also enhance rider experience.  Armoring – the use of rock(s) in areas to reinforce dirt and assist in erosion control.  Dirt Boss – Certified trail workers who have training and expertise in sustainable trail standards.  Trail Steward - Dirt Bosses who also assist with park master planning, trail projects and volunteer coordination. Trail Improvement Identification: At the November 2019 meeting, the volunteer group identified three significant areas as priorities for improvement at Hillside Park. Resolving these issues would increase the sustainability of the trail, reduce the need for maintenance, and enhance the trail experience for users. Reference Map: https://www.elkrivermn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9126/Hillside-Mountain-Bike-Map 1. On the map, the section just south of “L”: This section was suffering significant, unexpected erosion beyond what could be maintained by volunteers.  This was unusual and unexpected- the grade is not excessive, and the soil type was determined as stable. Additionally, the contractor (YRU Contracting) was directed to build a significant grade reversal which should have reduced erosion when the trail was built.  Faster than expected rider speed and skidding may have exacerbated the issue, allowing water to channelize more easily down the trail tread with erosive effects.  Volunteers proposed a series of elevated, wooden boardwalk features allowing for riders to traverse up and over three drainage points. This results in less maintenance, enhancing the riding experience, and it is designed for a wide range of rider skill levels.  The area was taped off in July 2020 and riders were directed onto a portion of the previous trail for the duration of the construction.  A small excavator was rented to rehabilitate the trail and create the three major drainage points. A bypass trail was hand built by the volunteers.  The constructed feature consists of three wooden “pyramids”: small, medium and large sizes successively. They are each 3 feet wide. There is a rock-faced “tabletop” which acts as a grade reversal at the end of the line, allowing beginner riders to roll over and slow down, while more advanced riders can jump over it. There is a bypass trail for riders who wish to go around it.  Initial expected use for the feature line were 70-80% of riders, however observation has shown +90% of riders have been using the new feature. It’s expected that the bypass trail will be used more in the winter grooming season.  There is a large rider demand for a return loop to be developed, but volunteers have not determined a viable solution for a return loop at this time; initial design was for riders to simply continue riding the trail rather than “session” the feature over and over. 2. On the map, the section at the end of the green trail, near the green square: This section was suffering significant erosion. This was due to a relatively steep grade through looser soil, and a narrower corridor area to work within for the design and build.  The proposed solution identified a lower alignment reroute to soften the grade, resulting in a trail more resistant to rider wear & tear and water erosion.  Some volunteers discussed armoring the existing section to address erosion issues and enhance the trail experience. It was acknowledged that armoring would increase the difficulty of the section.  The volunteers decided to explore the feasibility of a hybrid option to accommodate as many riders as possible, while enhancing the riding experience at the trail as much as possible.  Volunteers began work to repair the existing upper trail and construct a new lower trail in August.  The upper section was partially armored to prevent the identified erosion issues, and this trail has been identified as the more advanced trail.  The lower section includes a softer grading which is at or below 8% and will act as the bypass trail for beginner riders. 3. On the map, the section at “F”: During the trail build, the contractor (Trail Source LLC) advised the Trail Steward that the soil in this area of the park does not compact well. Dirt grade reversals were built, some of them were armored. It was not feasible or within budget for the contractor to armor all of the dirt grade reversal features, and the contractor advised the volunteers to observe the area and armor when/where needed.  The proposed solution was to provide additional armoring to better preserve the dirt in the area.  Funding was secured in July to purchase rock to armor the identified issue areas and the armoring reinforcement took place in late July.  Beginner riders can roll over the rocks and more advanced riders can use them as jumps.  The rock supports and preserves the existing engineered dirt rollers.  During the work, the existing rock shelf in the area showed signs of riders attempting to bypass the line, a bypass line was built to accommodate those riders and armored with flat rock to prevent erosion. Other Trail Work: On the map, the section between “F” and “G”: In early June, a trail work session focused on building a small, wooden balance feature for beginner to intermediate riders, in an area wide enough so riders could choose between riding the feature or the trail. The project took ~16 hours of total volunteer time and addressed requests for more features such as this on the trail. Since 2016, volunteer participation has been very light. Rider enthusiasm from the new projects at the park in 2020, and the launch of MORC’s Trail Education Program provided a perfect environment for volunteer recruitment. As of September 2020, Hillside City Park has 4 certified Dirt Bosses and a Trail Steward that consistently lead public weekly trail work nights for the first time since 2016. Typically 4-8 members of the public attend these weekly trail work nights. Most volunteers at Hillside are residents of Elk River and enjoy giving back to the community in which they live. Most of the trail work focuses on upkeep. With the new volunteer enthusiasm, we have been able to perform more trail outslope maintenance in August than the entire previous year. Future Planning: The end of the 2020 trail work season is approaching, and the volunteers will continue with the trail tread maintenance until the ground freezes. Riders have requested a small articulating feature, as well as a balance feature. If time and resources can be allocated, we will propose plans and attempt to build these features before the ground freezes. The annual volunteer planning meeting will be held later in 2020 to outline a work plan for the 2021 year, including communication with Elk River and park staff for the 2021 season.