Durango School District 9-R will not completely close down the bike trails north of Miller Middle school.
The district announced on Friday it will keep an east access dirt path from West 28th Street open.
The announcement comes on the heels of backlash the district received after a June 28 Community Update notified families that the trails would be closed.
“We knew that families were used to using these dirt paths, and their closure might be upsetting and inconvenient for some people,” 9-R Chief Operations Officer Chris Coleman said in a news release Friday.
Parents were concerned about their children riding bikes on a busy Junction Street without a bike lane because of the closure. The closure of the trail also prevented a safe and easy route for students at Mountain Middle School to ride their bikes from home.
“It's a really significant route. I mean, we're going to be using it for the next six years. My kids bike almost every day and they walk that way,” Mountain Middle School parent Maya Kane said about the district closing the trails.
The district says its intention when closing the trails was to keep Miller students safe and monitor access to the campus.
Traffic hazards to pedestrians in the new pick-up/drop-off location and respect for neighbors’ privacy were also among the reasons the district initially closed paths.
“After the initial announcement about closures in June, district leaders reviewed thoughtful emails from families and decided on a compromise,” Coleman said. “We believe we have a good solution.”
The solution includes new perimeter fencing, which will enclose the entire campus.
The east-access dirt trail on West 28th Street will remain open to Miller families after construction work is completed. The trail will allow an open pass through the outside of the campus fence line.
There will be two gates allowing students to enter from the north or up from West 28th Street, and the existing rough dirt trail will be improved and maintained by the school district.
There will still be an impact on the neighbors on and near West 28th Street, the district says.
All Miller Middle School families will receive messaging about safety and being considerate of neighbors when using the trail and drop-off point, 9-R announced in a news release.
“Our families’ concerns are always important to us. We’re grateful for their engagement,” Coleman said. “And we’re thankful our teams were flexible and willing to go back to the drawing board to establish a safe and efficient bike/walk route to school.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
