GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – The first phase of the Monument Trail was completed in 2020 and the second phase just wrapped up.
While safety was an aspect of designing this new trail, the local economy will benefit from it as well. The newly improved Monument Trail was 15 years in the making. Something that couldn’t be done without teamwork. Libby Collins, Senior Regional Program Manager at Colorado West Land Trust, said, “The city and the Colorado West Land Trust have been working together as well as with the BLM, Mesa County, the Regional Transportation Planning Office, and a number of other local organizations to understand what the best trail alignment was.”
The new trail connects the Riverfront to the Lunch Loop Trail, making more room for foot traffic. “As soon as we built the first phase of the trail, which was completed in 2020, people were on that trail riding it. And we think the same is going to happen for this next section of trail,” said Collins.
The outdoor recreation industry in Mesa County contributes about $484,000,000 to the local GDP annually. In 2018, Colorado Mesa University conducted an economic impact report on three trail heads in Mesa County. Lunch Loop was one of those. “Now the trail connects all of these outdoor recreation amenities. And that just brings more people to the local downtown and visiting local restaurants, businesses, hotels, and so forth,” said Collins.
A new safety feature is also adorning the trail. HAWK or High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk, signal has been installed on the trail’s crossing along Monument Road. It is the first signal of its type in Mesa County, aiming to warn drivers of pedestrians. Trent Prall, Engineering and Transportation Director for the City of Grand Junction, said, “We do have some yellow advanced warning signs that will help indicate that the signals about to be active and indicate to vehicles that they need to be slowing down for that pedestrian crossing.”
On Tuesday there will be a Chainbreaking Ceremony at the Lunch Loop Trailhead to celebrate the milestone project. There will also be individual learning sessions about how to use the HAWK light during the event as well.
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