Residents press Crossville to close Deerfield trail; Friends of the Trails seeks permission, funding for new loops

A public commenter urged Crossville officials to permanently close a trail off Deerfield Road after barricades that had blocked vehicle access vanished and people began parking and staying for extended periods.

"I think and feel like that it just needs to be blocked off and not be used for a trail," the speaker identified in the record as Miss Kaye said during public comments, citing prior drug activity and a body found in the area. Council and staff said extra police patrols were being assigned and that staff would coordinate with the city manager to develop next steps.

The topic continued when John Conrad, president of Friends of the Trails, presented an inventory of existing and planned trails across Crossville and Cumberland County. Conrad said the county has roughly 104 miles of trails when city, state park and county segments are combined; he listed the following mileages in his presentation: Crossville Greenway about 15 miles, the state park nearly 15 miles, Fairfield Glade 24 miles, the Common Trail about 42 miles in the county, Pleasant Hill 3 miles and Meadow Park about 4.2 miles, and he estimated the city itself has about 20 miles of trails.

Conrad described active and proposed projects at Meadow Park and Soldier's Beach. He said the Friends of the Trails had flagged a 1.5-mile "Beaver Loop" at the Soldier's Beach area and a shore-following loop at Meadow Park that could total about seven miles but that the group planned to build smaller first sections and return loops for 2- to 3-mile outings. Conrad said typical construction costs for his group's work are about $10,000 per mile and said Friends of the Trails would be tentatively seeking $30,000 to build the first sections of the Beaver Loop and a shoreline connection.

Conrad also noted any work at Meadow Park would require review by the lakes commission and engineering approval before construction. He said trail work often requires easements or landowner permission when outside city-owned property and that the group seeks council permission to proceed with flagged segments.

Councilors said they would follow up with police and city staff on the Deerfield safety concerns and would work with Friends of the Trails and city engineering on permissions and any funding requests. The record shows staff planned to return with next steps; no final council vote to close the Deerfield trail or to allocate funds to Friends of the Trails was recorded at the session.

Ending: Staff and council asked for follow-up reporting and suggested police would monitor the Deerfield area while staff contacts the lakes commission and engineering about proposed trail work.