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Milton council hears public pushback on Hickory Flat sidewalks as staff outlines revised trail blueprint and earlier outreach
Summary
City staff proposed consolidating multiple trail plans into a single blueprint and moving targeted homeowner notifications earlier in the prioritization process; residents at public comment urged removal of proposed sidewalks on Hickory Flat Road, raised safety and tree-loss concerns, and warned of potential eminent-domain impacts. Council asked staff and the Milton Trails Advisory Committee to return with a revised blueprint and an additional work session.
City staff and the Milton Trails Advisory Committee presented an updated Milton trail blueprint and a revised project-delivery process at a joint work session on Dec. 8, 2025, while residents urged the city to remove proposed sidewalks on Hickory Flat Road and to notify affected property owners much earlier in the planning cycle.
The presentation described a four-stage funnel that moves ideas from plan development into prioritization, then into the annual budget and finally into project delivery. Staff recommended consolidating the 2017 blueprint (the map currently in the UDC), the 2020 implementation/prioritization plan and other documents into a single, regularly reviewed map and said the city would shift targeted outreach so adjacent property owners are notified during the green (prioritization) stage rather than waiting until design and right-of-way steps.
The change is intended to give residents earlier notice and to reduce 'surprises' when a trail segment moves from concept to construction. "We would individually mail notifications to those that are directly adjacent to where that trail might be," a city staff member said, describing outreach that would accompany the annual prioritization work session.
At public comment, several Milton residents who live along Hickory Flat Road and nearby gravel roads urged the council to remove sidewalks or multiuse trails from that corridor and to use alternate connections. "On the proposed trail map, new trails in pink are shown on multiple miles of Milton streets where homes and businesses are located," Mary Crock (600 Hickory Mill Lane) said. She asked the city to mail notices to all taxpayers whose properties appear on the proposed map and to hold multiple public open houses so affected residents can provide feedback.
Other speakers described on-the-ground impacts where existing trails abut homes. "I get loitering at all hours, late hours, early hours...Trash and garbage," said Ben Kopaka (14115 Bridal Road), who described nearly a decade living adjacent to a Milton trail and urged the city to limit additional trail segments on gravel roads. Doug McCurry (830 Hickory Flat Road) warned the council that some proposed alignments would cut through private yards and mature trees and said the possibility of eminent domain raised deep concern for neighbors. "I would ask the council when situations such as this present themselves that they carefully review the use of eminent domain," McCurry said.
City staff and MTAC members repeatedly emphasized that the blueprint is aspirational and long-range, and that not every trail line on the map will be funded or constructed. Staff said the city envisions regular updates to the blueprint on a three-to-five year cadence and an annual prioritization discussion; when funding is available some short segments within existing right-of-way could move from prioritization to construction in under a year. Staff also cited available local transportation funding described in the meeting as "T Splos" in the $3'$4 million range for near-term work.
Council members and MTAC members debated whether public interest in "trails" generally means park-based routes and recreational loops or sidewalks and hard-surface connections along streets. Several council members called for prioritizing low-cost, high-benefit "quick wins" in Crabapple, Deerfield and commercial nodes while protecting the rural and equestrian character of other neighborhoods.
After discussion, council members agreed to ask MTAC and staff for one more work session to present revisions that reflect the public feedback heard tonight, including options to remove or reclassify segments in rural, equestrian areas such as Hickory Flat Road. Staff agreed to return with a revised blueprint and additional outreach plans before the council takes final action. No formal vote on the blueprint was taken at the meeting.
The council closed the work session with a plan for staff and MTAC to reconvene, present the revised recommendations in a future reports-and-presentations item, and then move toward formal consideration in the coming months.
