Art at the Red Arroyo Trail Project

Soon the City of San Angelo will be a Guiness World Record holder. The work that has been taking place on the Red Arroyo Trail Project will include the world’s longest glow stone trail in the world. It is one mile long.

 “We are partnering with a design team in Amsterdam. We have been using [glow stones] in our work for quite a while,” said Julie Raymond of Art in Uncommon Places during a city council meeting yesterday. “They are solar-charged little plastic stones that we apply just like aggregate. We will be the first in the nation to do it. We will make the Guiness because we will have a mile; I think in Amsterdam they have a half mile.”

The glow stones charge during the day under the sun, and then glow at night for ten to twelve hours illuminating the walkway, adding a bonus safety feature to the park. During the daytime the stones will appear blue or green adding to the list of things that’s going to make the park unique.

 Two ten foot gabion stone figures will be placed at the entrances of the park welcoming visitors in. Howard College students at the West Texas Training Center had a hand in their design. Six birdcages will act as trailheads. Each birdcage will contain a bench with a mosaic on it, concrete art depicting native flora and fauna, and some form of solar powered lighting. Each cage will have a different theme and color, making them an easy reference when meeting or searching for someone within the expansive park.

Dog sculptures made of old bike chains will also adorn the park at dog waste receptacles. Tuffets, sixteen total, placed along the pathway will act as markers along every quarter mile of the trail. These tuffets will also depict area wildlife and flora in mosaic form.

Five metal hollow bottom boats filled with rocks will actually be in the Red Arroyo. When it rains water will flow around them as they act as a gabion. A gabion is a basket or cage filled with rocks that acts as building support, and aids in water filtration in flood plain areas like the Red Arroyo.

Art in Uncommon Places has contributed art all over town, the majority of it being along the Concho River. “They’ve been envisioning art for the Red Arroyo Trail Project since the very beginning, eight to ten years ago when we first started talking about funding it,” said Carl White Parks and Recreation Director. “The project is ongoing with plans of completion this fall,” he said.

“I’m super excited. I have to say this is the very first project I started working on when I got on the council in May 2005,” said Charlotte Farmer during the city council meeting yesterday afternoon. “To see it come to this…might’ve known put it in Carl’s hands we’d just get to really move it along, and I’m excited about this, I’ve been watching the work and progress out in the district and its super,” said Farmer.

Driving down College Hills you are sure to notice the construction that’s taking shape. Once the groundwork is complete, the art will be added making another unique destination in San Angelo.