GRANBY —The town of Granby is continuing its efforts to create viable pedestrian links to its various commercial, recreational and residential pockets.

Downtown is severed from Kaibab Park and the ballfields by the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks. The core area is also cut off from its only grocery store by a vehicular viaduct with narrow shoulders and no pedestrian design. This means Granby residents and visitors can safely cross town only by car. Town officials hope to change that by engineering a pedestrian bridge over the tracks, connecting downtown to Kaibab Park. From there, they hope to pave a bike and pedestrian path connecting the park to City Market. But so far, plans have been slowed by funding roadblocks.

The town applied for a Great Outdoors Colorado, or GOCO, grant to fund the pedestrian bridge in 2012. But according to town manager Wally Baird, they were denied last summer.

“There was a lot of competition and other projects they felt were more important,” he said. “So we’re going to apply for another grant and do a few things differently. We’re not giving up.”

Baird plans to send another GOCO planning and engineering grant application this week. The town did receive $382,000 in Transportation Enhancement Funds through the Colorado Department of Transportation for the project. But the town estimates the project will cost at least $1.5 million, and those CDOT funds will only take the trail so far.

“Because we didn’t get much money, we split the project and we’re going to go as far as we can with a pathway,” Baird said.

The town will begin construction for the pathway next spring. It will be similar to the paved trail connecting Fraser to Winter Park, and Baird expects it to go as far as Ten Mile Drive to start. Baird has personally worked on the pedestrian project since 2008, but said the town has been pursuing a walkabiity plan since at least 1999.

“We’re still plugging away at it,” he said.

Leia Larsen can be reached at 970-887-3334 ext. 19603.