Those who live on Silver Creek Rd. in the North Snyderville Basin may feel somewhat isolated from the rest of Park City. That’s because many of the trails in and around Silver Creek do not connect to surrounding public trails, which is causing some in the community to act.

To set the stage, in September 2011, Silver Creek resident Lacey Picard was horseback riding along Silver Creek Rd., which does not have sidewalks or a trail. She was struck by a 16-year-old driver, killing her horse and sending her into a coma for weeks with a traumatic brain injury.

Shortly after the incident, the Silver Creek Service Area Board formed a Trails and Park Advisory Committee (TPAC) to attempt to connect Silver Creek’s trails to the rest of the trails in the community. Tim Anker, Silver Creek resident and Vice Chairman of TPAC, is aiding in this effort.

“We’ve got to get some safe route to get up and down Silver Creek Rd. and have these arteries feed into it,” Anker said.

Silver Creek was founded in 1965 which, over time, has developed parks and trails reactively and without any formalized plan, budget or funding, according to TPAC Chairwoman Dawn Bowes.

Bowes says TPAC is collaborating with the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District in building a connection between the Union Pacific Rail Trail and the Glenwild trail system.

“I want their help and support in building connectivity because we have no connectivity today,” Bowes said.

Basin Recreation District Director Rena Jordan explained their role in aiding Silver Creek’s trail connectivity. She said Basin Recreation had invested “more than $1 million” several years ago in a large non-motorized underpass project that connected the Silver Creek community to the Rail Trail.

She also said roughly $500,000 was allocated from bonds to connect the Silver Creek community to the Bitner Ranch Rd. area, specifically near the Canyon Creek Condominiums.

“We’re interested in connecting wherever there’s public community access,” Jordan said. “If ultimately some private landowner decided to give the neighborhood access we would be happy to help make that happen.”

Silver Creek resident Mike Montgomery says there is currently interest on the Service Area Board to pave all of the roads in the community, which he says will further escalate tensions.

“We want to mandate side trails and side access,” Montgomery said. “We’re working hard with land owners to see if trails can be built in front of their houses.”

Bowes pointed out that the community had received $100,000 from a Recreation Arts and Parts program tax application to build the first trail system along Silver Creek Rd. but are currently waiting for the county to permit the section of trail going through a nearby wetlands, half of which she says will be built by volunteer help.

“There’s no agreement in terms of [trail] maintenance, how they are developed or what they will look like,” Bowes said.

That is where the controversy arises, Anker says. He says right now a lot of Silver Creek’s trails are old and rutted out and that they are maintained on a volunteer basis by residents.

“Everyone has their own idea of what would be ideal in terms of roads and trails,” Anker said. “As a member of TPAC, we’ve looked to Basin Recreation to try to look to their standard as far as how we can upgrade our trails.”

Anker also mentioned that they are “98 percent of the way there” to having an off-road trail that would get people from the Rail Trail to Glenwild.

“We’re the missing link in that big trail system,” Anker said.

Montgomery believes that integration of Silver Creek’s trails is crucial to addressing larger issues.

“I think the answer to our population density is more trails,” Montgomery said. “Make them thought out and a quality trail system that is attractive to all trail types. We should integrate throughout the whole state because we rely too much on cars.”

Anker, too, was also motivated to take action on this issue because of Silver Creek’s unique situation.

“One of the reasons I got involved in this trail community is because it’s really the only neighborhood in Park City that you can only access by a freeway,” Montgomery said. “It’s not safe for anybody unless you’re in a car. That should motivate people to find some way to get out of Silver Creek on a bike or on foot.”