ST. GEORGE, Utah — A new paved trail goes from one side of St. George to the other.
It will be a road of fun for cyclists, skaters, scooter riders and runners — but it's a necessity for others.
Shirlee Draper was on hand Tuesday to take in the dedication of the south extension of the Virgin River Trail at the Crosby Family Confluence Park. Her disabled adult children can’t drive, making biking their main mode of transportation.
“I have two special needs kids. My oldest, John, has autism, and he is employed at the All Abilities Park here in St. George,” Draper said. “He is able to ride his bike all the way from my house to the park where he works. And then I have a daughter, Angel, she has cerebral palsy. She can't ride a bike or drive, and so she gets to come for rides with us in her adult-sized trailer. E-bikes are the great equalizer."
Connecting to the Virgin River North Trail and following the Old Spanish Trail, it’s now possible to go on foot or human-powered wheels from Sun River at the Arizona border to the northern limits of St. George while barely having to cross a street.
Draper lives in the Bloomington neighborhood of St. George. But she and others were touting how it will now be faster for them to bike ride to the Bloomington Walmart than drive.
“We're about a mile and a half from Walmart by the roads, but by the trail system, I think we're about three-quarters of a mile from Walmart,” Draper said. “And so we're able to hop on our bikes and run over to Walmart, have a good time in the process.”
There are now 72 miles of paved trails in St. George, exceeding Salt Lake City for the most in the state and third behind Henderson, Nevada and Los Angeles for the most in the Southwest.
Along with being a member of the St. George City Council, Dannielle Larkin has led the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, which has been long seeking such routes throughout Greater Zion.
“If we just keep widening our roads and we don't have other options besides driving cars, we will become an auto-centric nightmare like Los Angeles. It's the only option,” Larkin said “If we have other options that people can use, other modalities that people can use, then we don't have to keep widening our roads.”
The end result, Larking said, will be fewer cars on the road, meaning less need for costly widening and maintenance and ultimately saving the taxpayers' money. Larkin also mentioned that there are some who just can’t use a car for transportation. And that’s not just those with few economic means. It’s also the elderly and disabled like the Draper offspring.
“Opening up the opportunity for people to get out and be more active really increases the overall health in a community,” Draper said. “But opening up the ability for everyone, regardless of their abilities, to go out and enjoy nature and do it in a way that's completely accessible to all of the neighborhoods, Just the sheer amount of miles that the trail system covers here in St. George is mind-blowing."
Larkin added that the master plan is to work with neighboring communities to ultimately have paved trails continue on through Washington City, to Hurricane, and ultimately all the way to Zion National Park.
That’s music to the ears of 90-year-old biker Clarke Lium, who has clocked 7,000 miles on the three-wheel tricycle he calls his Mustang.
“For me, it's every day. I enjoy it,” said Lium, who has been trailing around on his bikes for 10 years. “I like being outside. I've always enjoyed being outside. I used to ski a lot. I do a lot of fly fishing, but now this is my thing.”
