Hawaii County will receive nearly $100,000 in federal funds to host a series of events promoting the use of public trails over the next year.
The Federal Highway Administration has awarded the county a $96,000 grant to fund the county’s “Trek the Trails” project, a series of events intended to “activate” three public pedestrian and bicycle paths around the island. With a 20% funding match by the county, there will be a total of $120,000 to spend on the project.
Barett Otani, executive assistant to Mayor Mitch Roth, said the county will hold events at the Hilo Bayfront Trails, the Waimea Greenway and Trails and Queen’s Lei in Kona in order to encourage those trails’ use. According to the county’s grant proposal, those three trails are important for their central locations connecting housing, education and business centers, as well as for their accessibility for both pedestrians and cyclists.
While Otani said specifics about the Trek the Trails events have not been decided yet, he explained they would be held in partnership with county agencies and other local health initiatives such as the Blue Zones Project.
“They’d be like workshops for the community,” Otani said. “It’s not just putting up an inflatable slide or something, there will be booths and information for people to learn about the trails.”
Otani said the county would hold at least one event at each of the three trails between now and the end of 2023, the county’s deadline for spending the grant. As for the events’ dates, he said they have not yet been determined, although one will take place on June 3, which is designated National Trails Day by the American Hiking Society.
The Trek the Trails project also serves as an opportunity for residents to speak with the mayor, as the project dovetails with Roth’s monthly series of “Walk with the Mayor” events. Otani said the first such event, which will be held today, was originally planned to be part of the Trek the Trails project, but was retooled to be an observation of the International Day of Peace because the county has not formally accepted the FHA grant yet.
“It’s exciting to be able to get this money for actual events,” Otani said. “We’ve gotten these (Transportation Alternatives Program) grants for building infrastructure before … and now we’ve built all these facilities, so we just have to get people to use them.”
Otani said the Trek the Trails project will also allow the county to conduct data gathering and determine how many people regularly use the trails, which will allow the county to plan further developments where they are needed.
The County Council Finance Committee will vote on whether to accept the grant on Tuesday.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.