K.C. could gain regional trail system

BY: Kellie Houx, Associate Editor

After years of divergent groups from Kansas City departments and organizations such as the Mid America Regional Council discussing trails, the groups finally are joining to create a citywide trail plan.

Representatives from Kansas City, landscape architects and others held three meetings May 8, 9 and 10 to share plans.

Steve Rhoades, who previously served as MARC's MetroGreen Trails planning manager, works for Patty Banks Associates. He said the community supports trails but unifying efforts has been a stumbling block. The first trails studies started in 1991, but a concerted effort did not start until 2002, he said.

“We really want to protect areas along streams and roadways,” Rhoades said. “People want this because of the multitude of benefits of trails including health and safety.”

“There are also economic benefits, because many companies will expand or move into a city where there are trails nearby,” he said.

Rhoades said Kansas Citians interested in trails do not have to look far for inspiration. There are successful trail systems in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., St. Louis, and Wichita.

Rhoades said the 6th District could benefit from a connection to the Rock Island Rail connector that then hooks into the 200-mile Katy Trail. The Katy Trail is the old route of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas rail line (M-K-T, or "Katy" for short).

The Missouri Department of Transportation wants to see bike lanes on 107th Street to connect with Longview Park and then into Lee's Summit to James A. Reed Road. The final connection would be at Pleasant Hill.

Rhoades also applauded trails along Blue River, Indian Creek and the Trolley Track. He said these connections could allow trails into Johnson County, Kan. Other trails could connect to Martin City and all the way to Sugar Creek, near Independence.

“This is the first attempt from regional and city groups to really look at citywide plans,” Rhoades said.

Kansas City departments working on trail plans are parks, planning, water and public works.

Parks planner Mike Malyn said Kansas City needs to get up to speed and connect trails.

“It is a quality-of-life issue,” he said. “It is also a competitive issue. People want to see trails. Connectivity will become critical when folks are looking at modern cities to move to. Trails are often an amenity people really come to enjoy.”

Project leader John Zimmerman, TransSystems, is working with Kansas City Planning project managers Shannon Jaax and Jade Liska on trail alignments and a master plan that would provide basic north/south, east/west connections. Zimmerman said a concept plan should be developed by July.

Public meetings will be held in November to unveil a draft and a formal presentation should come in December.

“The plan should be adopted and implemented by early 2008,” Zimmerman said.

There could be about 234 miles of trails identified in a city area of more than 318 square miles, Zimmerman said

“Portland, a comparable city in size, has 226 miles of trails,” Zimmerman said.

Rhoades said Portland voters approved a dedicated sales tax to fund trail construction and maintenance.

Jaax said her department plans to revisit the city's Forging Our Comprehensive Urban Strategy (FOCUS) plans to see how different communities judged the value of trails.

In MARC's 2005 Regional Walking and Biking Survey, 82 percent of those surveyed thought it “very or somewhat important for cities and counties in the Kansas City area to develop a connected system of walking and biking trails.”