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As construction of the seven-mile Luverne Loop comes to completion, future trail work will focus on “enhancing the trail experience and making additional connections in community.”
The Luverne Economic Development Authority on Monday reviewed plans for the Bike Trail Wayfinding Signage Master Plan, presented by EDA director Holly Sammons.
“The plan includes recommendations for sign types and locations and identifies opportunities to help promote the trails and additional amenities within the city of Luverne,” she said.
The Loop will be marked by several different types of signs, ranging from large to small, but the trail kiosk signs will have the most information.
They’re double-sided with a map of the complete Luverne Loop on one side, and on the other will be a broader map including all three local trails — the Loop, the Blue Mound Trail and the Ashby Trail.
The maps will also identify local parks, provide directions to trail amenities (such as bathrooms) and include distance information from starting points.
Five kiosks are planned along the Loop route:
•at the Trailhead on East Main Street.
•at the intersection of 131st Street and Blue Mound Avenue.
•at the School Prairie View Complex.
•at Rotary Park on South Highway 75.
•at Redbird Field.
She said maps at these locations will catch state park users on the north end of town to alert them that there’s more trail experience in Luverne.
It will catch travelers from the interstate at the dog park, some of whom may want to take their dogs for walks along the Loop.
It will inform visitors to school on the west edge of town and at the ballfields on the east side.
“They give people a visual idea of how long the trails are and how to get around and experience them,” Sammons said.
“These maps are a work in progress and will need to be constantly updated between our signages, website, brochures, community guide, visitors’ maps … it’s really good to have a nice base layer that’s constant and then we can go in and make changes as they happen.”
Trail directional signs are tall and narrow and will be placed along the Loop easements to direct users to trail amenities and provide distance information along the route.
Sammons said the recent work to widen the path on the north end of town by the hospital will also be helpful for users to see exactly where the trail goes.
It’s 10 feet wide with a total 30-foot easement, which distinguishes it from regular sidewalk routes.
Interpretive panels (with angled table tops) will acknowledge trail funding, the RIM (Reinvest in Minnesota set aside acres) property. One will be placed along the river near the wooded area the newest part of the trail.
“It will talk about the importance of taking care of what we have,” Sammons said. “That’s one of the pillars of Legacy funding … to talk about the prairie, to talk about the land, the native grass and habitat and the river and conservation methods that are used.”
The final portion of the Loop project received an $839,300 Legacy Grant through the Greater MN Parks and Trails Commission.
The trail wayfinding signage project is planned for 2023 with a budget of $50,000 to $75,000, some of which may be offset by additional grant funds.
Sammons said she is working on promoting the finished Loop to encourage more visitors to Luverne.
“We’re now in a position where we can market our trail, not just to local and regional people, but in statewide publications,” Sammons said.