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Payson council approves ADOT scoping grant for Granite Dells mixed-use path
Summary
Council approved scoping for a mixed-use, nonmotorized path on Granite Dells Road after staff and Rim Country Trail Foundation representatives said ADOT awarded a Transportation Alternatives scoping grant; the town's match is about 5.7% of the $190,000 scoping award.
The Payson Common Council on April 22 approved a scoping agreement to move forward with a mixed-use, nonmotorized path and bike lane along Granite Dells Road, a project proponents say will connect town trails to two future trailheads.
Anna Vanziel, identified on the record as the grant author working with the Rim Country Trail Foundation, told the council the project received an ADOT Transportation Alternatives scoping award and that scoping costs are about $190,000, with the town’s required match at roughly 5.7 percent. "We just submitted another grant for $2,000,000 plus for the trailheads off of Granite Dells Road," Vanziel said, describing a multi-stage approach in which scoping improves the town’s competitiveness for later design and construction funding.
Town staff and council members noted ADOT reduced the award to a scoping phase from an earlier design request, but said scoping still positions the town for subsequent grant rounds. Staff explained the scoping phase will determine right-of-way, environmental questions and whether a NEPA study is needed; ADOT will solicit engineering firms for the scoping work and the process typically takes about one year.
Council moved to approve the scoping resolution (consent item B3) and the motion passed on a recorded vote of 7–0. Council members said they view the modest local commitment and the prospect of future construction funding as a favorable outcome for trail connectivity and tourism.
The scoping approval does not authorize construction; it funds the planning phase that staff and the Rim Country Trail Foundation say is needed to apply competitively for design and construction grants in the coming year.
