This week’s Pitch has a column by David Martin covering some of the issues around getting access to levees for trail use.
The Pitch: Held Back

Today Missouri government officials announced a settlement with the Ameren utility company over the collapse of the Taum Sauk dam and reservoir in central Missouri. One part of the much larger settlement includes the extension of Katy Trail State Park to the KC metro area. This is a momentous development in a long […]

The KC region has been struggling for years to get access to levees along the Missouri and Kansas Rivers in order to build trails, something that is common in neighboring cities like St. Louis, Omaha, even Hannibal. The problem is a patchwork of secretive levee ownership districts controlled by just a few big businesses.
One example […]

Tonight the city will hold a public meeting on a proposed trail along North Troost Avenue, between Englewood and Vivion. This trail would be funded with $250,000 from the TIF project that is building a new strip mall at the northeast corner of Vivion and North Oak.
While new trail development is certainly welcome, these types […]

The suburb of Mission, KS is working on a new multi-use trail along Rock Creek, which flows adjacent to their downtown business district. It is part of the Johnson County Streamway network and is on a regional MetroGreen corridor that will eventually connect to the Brush Creek trail at the Country Club Plaza and onward […]

A recent story in The Examiner featured trail-building efforts in Blue Springs. That city has been slowly building up a trail network over the last 17 years, and now has a plan for a city-wide network of 30 miles. One challenge in Blue Springs has been the lack of a stream corridor or […]

Warren has an update on detours on the Indian Creek and Tomahawk Creek trails in Johnson County, including a new one at Metcalf.

The Star has a new profile of the Riverfront Heritage Trail that is finally coming together.  Yours truly build the trail’s new web site, and I was very excited to learn about all of the various projects that about to bring the trail to completion.  Work has already started on a big segment across the […]

The Star reports that the Johnson County’s Mill Creek Streamway trail is closed today at College Boulevard for bridge construction.  It is hoped to re-open tomorrow.

June 2nd is National Trails Day, and the KC region has several events planned on local trails.  Check out the Mid-America Regional Council’s list of all trail events.