Ramp Creek Trail System

The Ramp Creek mobile home neighborhood houses approximately 800 residents, which is about 6% of the city’s population (City of Heath, 2007). The City of Heath offers a fantastic bike trail system to all residents, however access to the trail system is limited to only a few neighborhoods. In order for Ramp Creek residents to access the trail, they must drive two miles to the closest parking lot. Two miles may not seem like a long way, but when you consider the trail system comes within 100 yards of the Ramp Creek community park, it is. The residents, neighborhood, and community would all benefit by connecting the current trail to an access point at the Ramp Creek mobile home neighborhood.
Problem
Currently, the residents of Ramp Creek have …show more content…
The Department of Parks and Recreation of Nebraska found through an in-depth study, the per capita annual medical cost of inactivity was nearly three times as high as the per capita cost for the bike trail system (Wang, et al., 2004). The City of Heath has created an excellent pedestrian trail system that not only provides health benefits, but also connects people to other amenities. Such as, the Heath Water Park, Hoback Park, and Heath High School, these are the places where “community” happens.

Proposal
The definition of community is; people living together under a common government and sharing a heritage, or culture. The city of Heath is becoming more diverse as evidenced by neighborhoods like Ramp Creek. If we want to truly be a flourishing community we must find ways to give citizens opportunities to find commonality. The best way to do that is by providing “space” to be together, and ways to access that space.
Extending the bike trail system to include Ramp Creek will allow the city of Heath to move one step closer to fulfilling it’s purpose according to the City’s website, “The Parks Department seeks to provide a wide variety of recreational opportunities to people of all ages and stages of life (City of Heath,