The Parks and Recreation Commission agenda for August 19 includes an action item to endorse the 10-year master plan. The draft plan is attached to the agenda, so now the document is available for public review.
The plan proposes expanding the existing bike/pedestrian network to add 291 miles of Active Mobility trails to the existing 121 miles. Most Active Mobility trails today are shared use paths along roads. Over 1/3 of the new Active Mobility trail miles would be paved shoulders.
There are 84 miles of existing Recreational trails for hikers, bikers. and equestrian, typically located in parks and greenways. An additional 66 miles were approved by the county supervisors in 2022 when they adopted the Mobility Chapter of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. A further 52 miles of Recreational trail segments are proposed in Pathways 2035.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will be requested to approve the Pathways 2035 plan in September.
The public will have an opportunity at that meeting to encourage the 8 elected supervisors to include adequate funding to implement the plan. The County Executive will start to draft the FY28 budget at the same time Pathways 2035 is approved. The FY28 budget, expected to be approved in April 2027, will show in its Capital Improvement Program (CIP) how much funding for trail projects – if any – will be provided in FY28-33.
Projected costs for new “Active Mobility” trails range from a low of $6,300/mile (for painting sharrows on an existing road) to $4.5 million/mile (for a new 10′ wide shared use path with a paved asphalt surface).
“Recreational” trail segments include natural surface/stonedust trails, paved trails, and also boardwalks with expensive bridges. Cost for each segment can be estimated after more detailed design, but Pathways 2035 estimates that cost per mile can range from $435,000 to $6,000,000.
To put costs into context, the Graham Park Road Sidewalk Project cost is $15 million/mile.
