March 28, 2001, Cont'd tunnel under a railroad track and over the nearby Wilson Canal. That will bring the trail to the city's kayak park where there are plans to install street lights to make the area safer and thereby more appealing to pedestrians. From there, the trail will snake through land donated by Dyce Chemical. So far, Hudson has had 100 loads of dirt dumped on the area in anticipation of trail building. "Once we have the trail in place, a series of advantages occur to property owners," Hudson said. "The area would be great as an equestrian park, hotels or business offices." Other cities are more interested in keeping a bit of nature available to residents rather than developing their river-front property. Marriott-Slaterville Marriott-Slaterville, one of the state's newest cities, will acquire its first portion of the Centennial Trail by this weekend, said Randy Phipps, a planning commissioner. "We will develop it into a low-impact park with a natural amphitheater, paths and trails," Phipps said. Most of the trail area in Marriott-Slaterville is in wetlands. "We want to preserve what we have before a great amount of development occurs," he said. West Haven West Haven is also moving along on its share of the trail. Two years ago it completed one stretch and is ready to put in a bridge across the confluence of the rivers. "We have easements for the whole area except for one parcel," said Jennifer Canter, a West Haven councilwoman. A big chunk of easement is being donated by a businessman who plans to convert his construction dump to a park or golf course once it is filled, she said. South Weber, Uintah Not all cities have been as pro-active, however. South Weber and Uintah are in the preliminary stages of trail planning. Several years ago, South Weber vetoed the trail after the city was told it would have to maintain it, said South Weber councilwoman Annette Gardner. Now, the trail is being brought up again, but so far it's just in the discussion stage. "We have seven or eight homes by the overpass and they are on one-acre lots and border the river," Gardner said. "On our side, it will be very difficult to get past those homeowners." Getting across Highway 89 will also be a hurdle no one has tackled as yet. Cheril Prescott, a Uintah council member, said her city is still in the planning stage and the problem with Highway 89 is not even on the city's horizon. "We're taking it kind of one step at a time," she said. But although it may be years before the entire trail is complete, Hudson says it is vital to Northern Utah's future. "If our grandchildren want a place to work and live, what are we doing to get businesses to locate here?" You can reach reporter Cheryl Buchta at 625-4229 or cbuchta@standard.net. 52