Ep. 6 – Connecting Cities, One Trail at a Time

What if a trail wasn’t just a trail, but the backbone of a region’s daily life? We share the inside story of the Razorback Greenway, how a community sketch along creeks became a 40-mile corridor that connects neighborhoods to schools, jobs, parks, and local businesses across Northwest Arkansas.

We start with the spark: Fayetteville’s early FAT Plan, a homegrown construction crew, and design lessons learned the hard way, wood decks swapped for concrete, weathering steel that lasts, and widths that anticipate e-bikes and growth. Then the breakthrough moment: a 2010 TIGER II grant matched by private philanthropy, six cities and two counties dropping the Friday night rivalries to work as one. You’ll hear how the team navigated 129 property owners, federal right-of-way rules, and early NIMBY fears that turned into gates cut into brand-new fences.

The conversation becomes a playbook for small and rural communities: choose the first mile that changes lives, write grants that quantify people connected instead of paper specs, and build momentum when awards fall through by phasing, regrouping, and trying again. We unpack the policies that compound progress, requiring developers to build mapped segments, securing recreational easements in utility corridors, and adopting standards that make the whole system feel seamless. Safety drives adoption, so tunnels replace risky crossings and gentle grades welcome all ages and abilities. E-bikes erase hills, university connectors unlock thousands of trips, and trail-facing retail shows the economic upside.

If you care about active transportation, downtown revival, safer streets, or practical climate wins, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a city leader, and leave a review to help more communities turn their first mile into a network.