The Franklin County sheriff and Emergency Medical Services are working on an agreement to patrol the Prairie Spirit Trail and Flint Hills Nature Trail.
Via The Ottawa Herald:
Jeff Richards, Franklin County sheriff, said the sheriff’s office and Franklin County Emergency Medical Services are working on an agreement that would put personnel from both agencies out to patrol the Prairie Spirit Trail and Flint Hills Nature Trail, which run through the county and intersect in Ottawa. Personnel would use utility vehicles, such as Gators, to patrol the trails, he said.
“As the county and city push for higher utilization of the trails, we want to do our part,” Richards said Wednesday morning during a staff report at the Franklin County Board of Commissioners meeting.
The sheriff’s office receives a lot of calls to the trails, most of which are medical related, Richards said. Emergency and law enforcement personnel have patrolled the trails in the past, though it has been very “informal,” he said.
Using utility vehicles would help because there are areas of the trail that are impassable for traditional emergency and law enforcement vehicles, Richards said.
“We are excited about it, and EMS is excited about it,” he said.
Image courtesy Des Moines Register, of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Bike Trail Patrol vehicle.