Lafayette biking trail idea rolling

• By RICHARD BURGESS
• Advocate Acadiana bureau
• Published: May 22, 2008 - Page: 1BA - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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LAFAYETTE -- A nonprofit group is pushing for a hiking and biking trail that would stretch some 25 miles from downtown Lafayette through the forests surrounding the Vermilion River and on to Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville.

The Atakapas-Ishak Trail, named for Native Americans who settled this area, is still in the planning stages, but serious discussions have begun with landowners along the proposed route.

Supporters envision a 12-foot-wide trail that hikers, runners and bicyclists could take from downtown Lafayette through the mature forests in the largely undeveloped areas along the Vermilion River east of Lafayette and pass just north of the Lake Martin rookery before hitting La. 31 in St. Martin Parish.

“You’ve got some beautiful forests out there that are 7 minutes from Lafayette by bike,” said Scott Schilling, president of Transportation and Recreation Alternatives in Louisiana, the nonprofit group working on the project.

Schilling gave a presentation on the project Wednesday to the Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation, where the idea was well received.

“To get people here we need to have a community where it’s nice to live and fun to travel to,” foundation director Jan Swift said. Initial plans call for the trail to begin at Parc Sans Souci downtown and travel along existing roadways to Vermilionville, where the trail would begin skirting the Vermilion River.

The trail would follow the river to the Ruth Canal, which passes just north of Lake Martin and then to La. 31, where users could choose to take La. 31 north to Breaux Bridge or south to St. Martinville.

Schilling said the route is subject to change as planning and landowner negotiations continue.

He said the project has been made easier because the land in question is held by only a handful of owners, most of whom have been receptive to the idea.

There is no firm timetable or budget for the project, but it is expected to cost several million dollars to construct.

Schilling is pursuing a wide-range of government and private funding for the project.

The trail could be built in stages, so money to complete the entire system would not be needed up front, he said, and securing funding to finish the trail will likely be easier once people began using it.

“People would say, ‘I really like that and I want it to continue,’ ” he said.