One for the Books

Adding to the Gallatin Valley Land Trust’s “Main Street to the Mountains” trail system, the new library trail will be quite an achievement once it is finished. The paved and lighted trail will connect the library with Peet’s Hill, Lindley Park, Burke Park, and Gallagator Trail. Along with the library itself, the trail is part of Bozeman’s flagship Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) project. Sara Folger, the city grants administrator, along with CTA Architects & Engineers, has been in charge of making sure the trail meets all LEED-certification requirements. “CTA really did a lot of work to earn points for silver certification,” emphasizes Folger. “[They] have been great in dealing with changes and design in keeping with LEED certification.”

Although the public may be getting impatient for the new trail to be finished, the trail-building process is labor-intensive because of the LEED certification and also because some of the money came from earmarked federal transportation funds that have strict utilization requirements. Folger explains that “city staff, contractors, and the political powers that be have been really focused to make this the best possible project.” The library trail is slated for completion this summer.