Trails Update by Parks Coble
Pioneers Park Trail System Adds a New Link: The Prairie Pioneer Corridor Phase One 
The first phase of the Prairie Pioneer Corridor trail has been completed with the addition of a new pedestrian bridge over the Haines Branch of Salt Creek at the west end of Pioneers Park. If you are driving into the far end of the park you will notice this bridge on your left across from the golf course and just before the nature center. On the far side of the bridge the new trail continues south connecting with existing trails. If you enjoy running on a nice limestone trail and like a bit of Mother Nature, check out this new route. The ultimate goal of this project (still a few years from completion) is a 13-mile trail through Denton, which will connect with the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center.I think many Lincoln runners do much of their training on Lincoln’s great trail system. While providing safe and convenient routes, most of these trails are relatively flat. So once a year when you head out to Pioneers Park for the Buffalo Run, the hills can be quite a shock. Killer Hill seems to get steeper every year! The new bridge and trail offers the possibility of doing a bit of hill work mixed in with a run on mostly flat services. The trails in the west end of Pioneers Park and the Prairie Pioneer 
Corridor provide an easy 4- to 6-mile loop, and then you can throw in a few hills before more miles in the flat. It opens up some nice running options. And if you want to make it a family outing, other family members can enjoy the nature center, watch the buffalo roam (literally), and explore the little schoolhouse while you are running.
Coming in the Spring: Extension Trail from Cavett School to Yankee Hill RoadThe Tierra Williamsburg Trail currently terminates at San Mateo Drive, one block from Cavett Elementary School. The extension will provide a link from this location, around school property to the south, and then down the drainage corridor to Yankee Hill Road. This last portion will be done in the spring, with the section around Cavett School being completed when the school year ends. The primary goal of this project is to provide a safe way for kids to walk to school, but it provides an important link for runners and bikers.Down the TrailConstruction on the Beal Slough Trail started with the widening of 56th Street. The trail from 56th will extend south under Pine Lake (part of widening project there). On the south side of the Pine Lake underpass the trail will continue along the Beal Slough through the Campus Life property connecting with the Yankee Hill Trail. The latter is being developed as part of the Yankee Hill widening project and that trail will extend east to the Heart Hospital where it links up with the southeast end of the Billy Wolff Trail. Eventually this will provide a nice loop for long runs. But most of this is at least two years out.
On the Murdock Trail paving project, work on the section from 56th to Touzalin will be underway this spring. The section east to 70th Street awaits a decision on a grant but could happen next year. The project involves paving the trail with cement but also adding a side path of limestone for runners who prefer the softer surface.See you on the trails!Top photo: The bridge from Pioneers Parks to the Prairie Corridor Trail. All photos by Parks Coble.
