Greeley staff outline 10-year Trails Master Plan that adds up to 90 potential miles

Greeley city staff and consultant Logan Simpson presented an update in February 2025 to a Trails Master Plan that maps roughly 120 miles of potential trail corridors for the city’s long-range growth area and identifies about 16 miles of “priority 1” corridors to guide the next 10 years of work.

The plan, which updates a 2002 trails plan and incorporates input from the city’s Transportation Master Plan and Imagine Greeley comprehensive plan, was presented to the Greeley City Council by Diana Britt, consultant Christina Couch (Logan Simpson) and Justin Charlton, Natural Areas and Trails Division manager. Christina Couch said, “These trail corridors present, about a 120 miles of total trail corridors. These are not the exact alignments, but desired connections.” Charlton said staff plans to begin design work on one or more priority-1 sections in 2025.

Why it matters: the plan lays out corridors across the city’s full build-out area, not just the current city limits, and is intended to shape future development, grant-seeking and capital planning. City staff said the plan aims to create a robust off-street trail system for recreation, transportation and connectivity—particularly to underserved neighborhoods and regional connections to Windsor, Severance and other nearby communities.

Key details from the presentation: the city currently has about 30 miles of trail; the plan would add about 90 potential miles in corridors (totaling roughly 120). Priority-1 corridors total about 16 miles and will be the focus for the 10-year implementation period. The presentation included design standards and planning-level cost estimates; presenters said a regional trail corridor can cost about $2.5 million to $3 million per mile depending on bridges, topography and river crossings. Charlton said the city’s development-related trail fund provided “7 to 900,000 dollars on average” in 2024 and that the Natural Areas and Trails division expects to use development impact fees, grants, partnerships with developers, metro districts and HOAs to advance projects.

Public engagement and analysis: Christina Couch described roughly 200 comments per phase gathered through pop-up events, the farmers market, libraries and online mapping tools. Staff and consultants used GIS analysis to evaluate slope, sensitive lands and connectivity to key facilities; the plan recommends design guidelines (trail width, surface type and maintenance responsibilities) to ensure continuity across jurisdictions.

Funding and operations: presenters emphasized the need to plan for ongoing operations and maintenance as trail miles grow. The plan identifies annual operational costs per mile by trail type and recommends evaluating staffing and service-level needs as the system expands.

Next steps: staff said they will begin designs in 2025 for one or more priority-1 segments and will return to council with a resolution to adopt the Trails Master Plan at a later date. No formal action was requested at the February 2025 work session.

Ending: Councilors asked about potential funding mechanisms including an open-space sales tax and expressed interest in balancing patience with more ambitious short-term funding. Staff said the plan provides cost scenarios and choices for council consideration as funding discussions proceed.