Friends of Pathways asks $67.5k for FY27 pathway ambassadors

If you bike-commute in Jackson in summer, you have probably felt it, the pathways are busier, faster, and sometimes sketchier at crossings. Friends of Pathways is asking the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board for $67,500 for FY27 to keep its “Pathway Ambassador Program” rolling, with paid and volunteer ambassadors out on the multi-use network to slow people down, teach etiquette, and help visitors not wander into conflict zones. That’s in a funding application attachment, Friends of Pathways Ambassador Services Funding Application Attachment.

Friends of Pathways points to pathway counters showing more than 1.6 million trips in 2025 (not including Grand Teton), and says e-bike speed and basic etiquette problems are driving complaints. The group says ambassadors would be on-path from April 20 to Oct. 15, 2026, providing directions, rules reminders, and minor bike repair. Training is slated for mid-April and includes CPR, pathway regulations, basic bike repair, and public interaction; only law enforcement participants can write tickets.

The current season’s 14-person roster includes one paid lead ambassador, eight volunteers, four staff from the Teton County Sheriff and Town of Jackson Police departments, and one staff member from the county pathways department, with participants putting in 5 to 10 hours per week. Friends of Pathways says last year’s $70,000 lodging tax award is being spent by the end of June 2026, including $35,000 for the lead wage, $15,000 for e-bike leases, $15,000 in stipends, plus uniforms and gear. The group also lists $27,000 in in-kind salary support from the town and county and $32,500 from its general operations, and says it expects to ask for about $60,000 next year.