Residents Use of Greater Cheyenne Greenway Increases As Trails Expand
Thanks to a dedicated group of citizens, a forward-thinking city government and hard work, the Greater Cheyenne Greenway has become the emerald in the city’s crown.
Comprising nearly 21 miles of trails for walking, running, cycling and skating, the greenway has grown into an integral part of life in Cheyenne, an amenity that draws more than 35,000 users annually in a city of just over 55,000.
“I won’t say it’s unanimously popular, but I would say it’s wildly popular,” says Jeff Wiggins, trails planner and coordinator for the Cheyenne Parks and Recreation Department, which manages the greenway. The only question most people have about it now is “When is the next expansion? When will it come to my backyard?”
The greenway came to life in 1990, when citizens gathered to voice concerns about the health of the city’s primary water source, Crow Creek, where snow removed from the streets was dumped.
“People got together and pledged to do something different, pay more respect to the creek,” says Wiggins. “They felt we were ruining our greatest asset, so they got together and planned a park, a trail around the creek and a bridge, and it just went from there.”
Today the greenway, supported through the city’s budget, state sales taxes and two local-option sales taxes, is a 10-foot-wide concrete path bordered by shoulders that are at least 2 feet wide on each side. It takes users through parks and along creeks and drainage streams, serving as a recreational amenity, an alternate transportation source and a wildlife corridor. The entire length of the path is handicapped-accessible.
The greenway includes seven sections: Crow Creek, Dry Creek, Sun Valley, Lion’s Park, Allison Draw, the Pointe neighborhood and Storey and Converse Boulevards. An impressive expansion in the works will add another 13-plus miles of trails over the next few years.
The greenway has won numerous awards, including a 1997 salute from the Region 8 Federal Highway Administration for best cement recreation trail in a six-state area. In 1996 the greenway won Cheyenne the designation “Trail Town USA” from the National Parks Service and the American Hiking Society.
“People here in Cheyenne really love their parks,” Wiggins says. “The greenway presents a wonderful opportunity to get out and follow those riparian zones that connect the city, and stop and enjoy themselves along the way. For me, though, it’s also important from a transportation perspective. Were working to create a true network that can serve as a transportation corridor to get to and from major destinations like schools and businesses and commercial centers. It’s about the quality of life here.”
