The busiest greenway in Great Rivers Greenway’s River Ring system is Gravois Greenway (Grant’s Trail), with more than 560,000 users each year. The most-asked question we get from folks all over our 1,200 square mile district is when it will be extended to connect to the River des Peres Greenway. This connectivity allows people to get around town, enjoy fresh air and exercise and explore our region’s great rivers and parks!
Because it’s such a critical connection and complex project, we’re seeking federal funding to leverage our local taxpayers’ investment. We’ve been recommended for $2 million in funding (thank you to the almost 300 people who sent in a comment during Round 1!), to be determined at the 1/27/16 meeting. Between now and 1/22/16, please consider taking 2 minutes to send an email with your support – it can even be the same comment you sent in before.
Click here, choose “GREAT RIVERS GREENWAY”, “GRANT’S TRAIL EXTENSION” and then “CLICK HERE” and it prompts an email to give feedback. Thank you in advance!
The priority of this project is safety. There are a few worthwhile components of the project where we must take extra measures to care for the greenway users:
At Bayless, crossing a total of 6 lanes, with 4 crossings, with interstate-level traffic, is a challenge. We’re building a bridge for the greenway. There has already been one accident with injury at this location between people driving and riding bikes. We have tried to navigate this type of crossing before and citizens have continually told us they are deterred from using that greenway because of the difficult intersection.
When crossing Weber Road, a tunnel is needed to cross the street without disrupting people’s homes.
Another bridge is needed to cross the River des Peres to connect to that greenway; MSD’s infrastructure (which takes precedent) severely restricts our options. We looked at traveling north to the bridge at Morgan Ford; it would cost as much as a new bridge and take people over a mile out of their way. If we head south, we run into active Union Pacific railroad lines, so the proposed bridge location is the best choice.
This project in particular will have an incredibly high impact. It’s worth the investment to deliver an asset for both transportation and recreation to hundreds of thousands of users in the next few years. We look forward to leveraging public and private dollars that will support the taxpayer investment.