For too long, Garden City has been the end of the trail for Greenbelt bicycle commuters and recreational riders.

One way or the other, that’s going to change.

First, the city has finally procured $727,760 from Uncle Sam to build a bridge that crosses the Boise River, connects with Greenbelt trails to Eagle — and detours around a contested, 1 1/2-mile no-cycling zone in Garden City’s upscale Riverside Village subdivision.

When the bridge opens next summer, cyclists will finally have a Greenbelt route linking Lucky Peak and Eagle. About time. It sure beats the circuitous, 2 1/2-mile detour city leaders cooked up to divert cyclists around Riverside Village.

Meanwhile, in November, Garden City voters will get to decide the fate of the cycling ban.

This, too, is a long time coming. Garden City leaders have spent more than three decades skirting around an agreement to create an uninterrupted cycling route, siding with Riverside Village residents. City Hall could have and should have gauged the will of the people years ago.

But as Mayor John Evans points out, if residents vote to overturn the bike ban, then this ordinance goes on the books. It could be subject to amendment, he said, but the City Council would have to have a “pretty good reason” to go against the will of the people. Seems like a fair starting point.

“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board.