Silver Creek residents and cyclists traveling through the community will now have an easier time connecting to the rest of the Snyderville Basin area with the opening of a new paved trail.The Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District on Wednesday held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Bitner Ranch commuter pathway, a 2.08-mile paved trail designed to create safer, more accessible connections to other routes on the West Side.“It opens up some opportunities, such as retail access to entertainment, healthier lifestyle, even an alternative mode to better transportation, so we’re super excited to help in this,” said Phares Gines, trails and open space manager at Basin Recreation.The objective of the Bitner Ranch commuter pathway is to help connect the outlying community to a main hub for retail and commercial activity. Gines emphasized the new pathway was only made possible through a partnership with Summit County Public Works and the county’s active transportation planning team. It was funded by Basin Recreation impact fees. Basin Recreation was established in 1986, and Gines said the commuter pathway idea has been decades in the making. The project began in earnest around 2016, in coordination with Summit County’s long-range transportation plan. Construction started in fall 2022.The first Active Transportation Plan was adopted in 2019. It involves planning for new bicycle and walking routes as well as improving existing ones. Several trails in the Park City area connect to Promontory or Summit Park, and the newly paved trail helps fill in the gaps in another location. Gines said the ideal goal is for everything to be connected, essentially forming a loop. This map shows the new 2.08 mile Bitner Ranch commuter pathway. Credit: Courtesy of Basin RecreationTrail markers will be put out so Basin Recreation can track the usage of the new paved trail.The Silver Creek park-and-ride is also just a few yards away, making it ideal for people to drop off their vehicles before heading into town. Basin Recreation agreed to plow the parking lot in exchange for storing its equipment.“One of Basin Recreation’s guiding directives is to provide equitable access to our trail systems and amenities, supporting alternative transportation options that make it easier and safer for the community to reach key locations,” the organization said in a statement.The post New paved trail connects Silver Creek to the Snyderville Basin area appeared first on Park Record.