West Crow Creek Greenway: The final piece to an ever-evolving pathway
May 18—CHEYENNE — The West Crow Creek Greenway, the last portion of the Greater Cheyenne Greenway to be refurbished since its creation in 1992, is the final puzzle piece in an ever-growing community-centered pathway that serves the people of Cheyenne through safe travel and recreation.
The Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), city of Cheyenne and Cheyenne Downtown Development Authority hosted a public outreach open house Thursday at the Laramie County Library to seek community input on five planning projects, one of which was the refurbishment plan for the 1992 portion of the Greenway and five alternative Greenway route plans.
At 2.6 miles long, the West Crow Creek Greenway is located between Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Freedom Elementary School. Darci Hendon, a project engineer for Summit Engineering, said the current path for the West Crow Creek Greenway is unpaved and therefore difficult to navigate. The refurbishments would include water quality improvements, habitat restoration and easier public access.
The Greater Cheyenne Greenway trail is made up of a 10-foot-wide concrete path that is more than 47 miles long, with plans for ongoing efforts to add more connections as the city grows. Hendon said the purpose of the Greenway is to provide safe, accessible transportation for bikers, walkers and others who use methods of transportation that do not include a car or other motorized vehicle.
"It's for recreation and commuting," Hendon said. "It's 10 feet wide, so there's enough room for kids on bikes and people who want to walk to work. It just provides a way for them to not be on the street. It's a safer place for them to be."
There is currently no plan set in stone for what the committees want to do in terms of alternative routes with this portion of the Greenway. The project is funded by tax dollars, Hendon said, so they want to get as much public opinion as possible.
To do this, the MPO has come up with five alternative pathway options for the public to vote on, as well as a public survey for community members to fill out at surveymonkey.com/r/WCrowCreekGreenway. The survey asks about safety concerns, preferred travel modes and opinions on the five different alternatives:
— Alternative one, titled Happy Jack Road Crossing Alternatives, would feature an overpass over Happy Jack Road, an underpass under Happy Jack Road, or the installation of a traffic or HAWK signal for at-grade pedestrian crossing.
— Alternative two, titled I-25 Crossing Alternatives, would feature a new pedestrian bridge over the interstate, a new pedestrian underpass under the interstate, or for the Greenway to go under two existing bridges.
— Alternative three, on Missile Drive East, would have the Greenway following Crow Creek under Westland Road.
— Alternative four, on Missile Drive West, would have the Greenway following Crow Creek under Westland Road and up Missile Drive near the existing railroad bridge.
— Alternative five, titled Old Happy Jack & 18th Street, would have the Greenway following Crow Creek under Westland Road to the existing railroad embankment. This alternative route provides direct Greenway access to the future gymnastics center, ice and events center, and Back 40 development.
Tom Mason, the former director of MPO, said he started the current Greenway project in spring 2023, before his retirement. The existing Greenway is built in all the "simple places" around Cheyenne, he said, in the shape of a loop from I-25 north by Central to I-25 by Missile Drive.
"Personally, I like option four because it's three levels, and it's too difficult to go on Crow Creek under those two bridges — the railroad bridge and the highway bridge," Mason said. "So the options are to be on one side of the road or the other to Westland Road, and I like that because they can separate (the path) from the curb and have it go along the creek. (For the other option) you'd have to cross at the traffic light, and (with option four) you don't cross a road, you just go under the bridge, and it takes you by the creek, which is nicer."
Hendon said once the public votes on an option, the MPO will prepare a plan to present to the Cheyenne City Council and then the MPO's policy committee, which is made up of the mayor, a county commissioner and the district engineer for the Wyoming Department of Transportation.
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Alyssa Crutcher is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's summer intern. She can be reached by email at acrutcher@wyomingnews.com. Follow her on X at @alyssasadie03.
