The Northwest Arkansas Razorback Regional Greenway (usually shortened to Razorback Regional Greenway or just Greenway in Northwest Arkansas) is a primarily off-road shared-use trail in

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozarks. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers, ...

. Dedicated on May 2, 2015, the Greenway connect
Kessler Mountain Regional Park
in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

to north of Lake Bella Vista in

Bella Vista, Arkansas Bella Vista is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 30,102 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 32,368 in 2023. The community has taken advantage of the natural setting within the Springfield Plateau of t ...

, while also serving schools, businesses and other cultural amenities along the route. In 2023 the Greenway was designated as a National Recreation Trail and was added to the

National Trail System The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

History

First envisioned by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission (NWARPC) during long-range planning that identified regional trails, the project came to fruition following the creation of a task force, public meetings, and coordination among NWA communities. Initially, the route was to follow three historically significant routes in NWA: the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

route;

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

routes; and the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

in conjunction with the Arkansas Heritage Trails program.

Funding

A grant from the

Walton Family Foundation Walton Family Foundation is an American private foundation and the main philanthropic organization of the Walton family. It was created in 1987 by Walmart founder Sam Walton and his wife Helen Walton. As of 2023, the foundation's giving focuses ...

in 2009 for up to $15 million ($ in current dollars) requiring 1-to-1 match from partner cities provided a revenue source for planning and design. The routing was also finalized during public meetings to serve many community attractions. A $15 million ($ in current dollars)

Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelines, ...

grant from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

in 2010 assisted in

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

acquisition and construction of the project. The

Arkansas State Highway Commission The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), formerly the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and en ...

also provided $855,000 ($ in current dollars) to the project.

Usage

As of 2017, a report by the Walton Family Foundation, using data collected by San Diego State University, found that weekday bicycle volume (187 cyclists per day) and weekend volume (336 per day) had increased between 2015 and 2017 by 32% and 14% respectively. Similarly, weekday pedestrian volume as of 2017 (166 pedestrians per day) and weekend volume (203 per day) had increased by about 5% and 19% respectively. The report also found Northwest Arkansas's cyclists per capita to be 5.45 cyclists per 1,000 people, and pedestrians per capita to be 5.78 pedestrians per 1,000 people as of 2017.

Community attractions

The Greenway serves the following community attractions: * 6 downtowns * 23 schools *

Campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

of the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

* 3 hospitals * Walmart, JB Hunt Transport Services and

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...

corporate headquarters * Arts and entertainment venues such as

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission. Overview ...

and the Walmart AMP * Historic sites * Parks and Playgrounds * Residential communities * Shopping areas such as

Northwest Arkansas Mall Northwest Arkansas Mall is a shopping mall located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. History The shopping center began as Northwest Arkansas Plaza, a single-level mall of leasable square feet. It was developed by General Growth Properties, and among ...

and

Pinnacle Hills Promenade Pinnacle Hills Promenade is a retail lifestyle center in Rogers, Arkansas. Opened in 2006, it features Bass Pro Shops, Dillard's, J. C. Penney, Target, and Best Buy as its anchor stores. It also includes a Malco Theatres movie theater and Dave ...

References

{{coord, 36.33565, -94.19035, type:landmark, display=title Bike paths in Arkansas Transportation in Benton County, Arkansas Transportation in Washington County, Arkansas Long-distance trails in the United States Protected areas of Benton County, Arkansas Protected areas of Washington County, Arkansas National Recreation Trails in Arkansas

History

Funding

Usage

Community attractions

See also

References