Ask the News - June 16

What is this Liebelt Channel Trail that was brought up at the June 6 Clovis city commission meeting?

The Liebelt Channel Trail is a 2.8-mile multi-use trail planned to run along the natural drainage channel that runs from northwest Clovis near Bob Spencer Park southeast to Greene Acres Lake, according to Clovis City Manager Justin Howalt.

In a Wednesday email, Howalt wrote the trail’s surface – dirt, asphalt or cement -- has not been determined.

“It will be an improved surface. Design is just now starting,” Howalt wrote.

The overall plan is for a trail that will cross the city with Bob Spencer Park at one end and Clovis Community College at the other.

As for what the trail will be once it leaves Greene Acres Lake Park headed east, Howalt wrote: “Eventually we would like to get wayfinding signs to direct individuals to Hillcrest Park using Main Street and Seventh Street.”

In 2022, Howalt told The News the trail would continue on Seventh Street with its sidewalks and bicycle lanes eastward to Clovis Community College.

The trail was on the Commission agenda June 6 as commissioners approved the city receiving Recreational Trail Program Funds from the New Mexico Department of Transportation to design the Liebelt Channel Trail.

The grant for the project is $256,320 with a city share of $43,680 for a total of $300,000.

“We currently only have funding for design.  Once the design phase is complete or nearing completion, the city will begin to look for construction funds,” Howalt wrote.

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