Coon Rapids and Glidden are two of 10 Iowa communities that have been selected to participate in Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning program in 2018. The Living Roadways Trust Fund was started in 1988 to finance and manage visually appealing vegetation along Iowa’s roads. Plans on how the projects will be managed are still in the works, but areas of interest have been identified. Glidden will be focusing on the areas surrounding the Highway 30 corridor, and Coon Rapids will concentrating on the main thoroughfares in town. Since 1995, 245 Iowa towns have benefited from the program. To be eligible, a community must have a population below 10,000, exhibit an existing transportation-related issue and create a committee of volunteers to assist in development. The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) in partnership with Iowa State University and the non-profit, Trees Forever. Corning, Decorah, Forest City, Graettinger, Moville, Peterson, Plymouth and Wapello were also selected to participate.
