The Pulaski County Quorum Court today approved spending county money toward building a 65-mile bike/foot trail from Little Rock through Saline County to Hot Springs. The vote was 10-3, with two absent.
County Judge Barry Hyde, a recreational biker himself, rounded up the 10 Democratic members of the county governing board necessary to approve the spending. The vote was 10-3, with three Republicans in opposition and two Republicans absent. Republican opposition had slowed the project previously.
The proposal had failed earlier because of absence from some JPs. As we’ve commented earlier, the opposition was nuts. The Republicans and Waltons have built a huge bike/hike trail in Northwest Arkansas, the Razorback Greenway, that shows how valuable this kind of expenditure can be. The popularity of the Big Dam Bridge and other river trail investments also support this planning grant.
Republicans prefer spending county money on other things. They lost tonight. Thank goodness.