Arcadia Lake Trail

Mark and I attended the meeting last night on the proposed trail around Arcadia Lake in Edmond, OK. We are very excited about the prospect of the trail which will be around 20 miles in length and paved. As cyclists we would use the trail frequently and take pride in having it in our community. So many people I talk to here would ride bikes or walk more if they had a separate and safe way to do so. The trail would certainly offer that – and more.

Although the trail will be quite the boon for local cyclists, runners, families, seniors and most any nature lover, the people that are less than thrilled about it are some of the nearby home and property owners and those that ride horses at the lake.

The Arcadia Lake Coalition working to bring the trail to fruition, has been proactive by meeting with stakeholders and has accommodated and amended the proposed trail when possible.

It seems one of the big issues has nothing to do with the proposed trail, but rather is a current problem with the area surrounding the lake – namely, trash. Not the type of trash that people leave, but trash that was dumped by the lake when it flooded and has never been cleaned up.

I understand their frustration at having to live with that and also their expectation that it be cleaned up by the city of Oklahoma City or Edmond, but it is a separate problem from the proposed trail and should be handled as such in my opinion.

Another main concern of the home/property owners, who are by far the biggest part of the voiced opposition, is safety and security and the fear that the trail will attract people that engage in criminal activity.

There will be further meetings and discussion to work through any outstanding issues or concerns.

Trail completion is currently slated for November 2014.