Posted on Tue, Dec. 19, 2006   
GAMBLING & TOURISM
Trails also draw tourists
By RICK ALM
Columnist
The World War I Museum that opened last week at Liberty Memorial is only the newest jewel in Kansas City’s tourism crown.

Next year we’ll welcome the expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Bass Pro Shops in Independence, a hotel at Argosy Riverside Casino and the unveiling of Kansas City’s reinvented downtown.

In the bright glare of those coming attractions, it’s easy to overlook River Heritage Trail, a rapidly emerging 10-mile network of bicycle and walking trails that soon will link scenic Cliff Drive in Kansas City to historic Kaw Point and downtown Kansas City, Kan.

A southern branch on the west side will stretch into Penn Valley Park and eventually will link to the statewide Katy Trail.

Bike trails and tourism? You bet.

A recent survey by the University of Missouri estimated 4.3 percent of the state’s visitors engage in hiking and biking. That’s 1.6 million people.

The study suggests biking and hiking is a more frequent activity for tourists than boating and golf, and is almost as popular as gambling and nightlife.

According to the League of American Bicyclists, an estimated 57 million Americans ride a bike at least once a year.

Biking will take center stage next fall when the inaugural “Tour of Missouri” USA Cycling Pro Tour stage race launches Sept. 11 in Kansas City, with the finish line in St. Louis.

Officials announced the race earlier this year, touting its “rolling festival” effect.

Kansas City and the River Heritage Trail will reap the benefit of a couple of days of pre-race publicity and festivities.

The local trail could be done by then. A recent donation of $2 million by Ameristar Kansas City Casino and Hotel went a long way toward completing a key downtown link in the project.

The final push is under way to raise the last $9 million needed for a visitor and interpretive center at Berkley Park, said Darby Trotter, president of the nonprofit Kansas City River Trails Inc. that has spearheaded the effort.

The trail has been a passion for Trotter, a retired clinical psychologist and community affairs vice president for Faultless Starch/Bon Ami. The West Bottoms company donates a large chunk of Trotter’s time to the trail effort.

“It hasn’t been an easy trip,” said Trotter, of the eight years it’s taken to bring the trail where it is today, more than three-fourths completed and mostly open and in use.

Bike and walking trails are the wave of the future for an increasingly energy- and health-conscious population, Trotter said.

“We’re trying to create a social environment with a high degree of livability and high degree of walkability,” he said.

To that add tourist-ability.