Connects Community to Transit, Businesses, Community Resources, Area Attractions, Neighborhoods & Parks

Community members joined Great Rivers Greenway (GRG) and its project partners Sunday, August 6, to celebrate the new half-mile expansion of the St. Vincent Greenway from Trojan Park at  Etzel Ave to Robert L. Powell Place in Wellston.

The afternoon kicked off with a parade held along the newly completed section from the Wellston Transit Center to Trojan Park. Then GRG, the Mysun Charitable Foundation and Wellston Mayor Nathanial Griffin took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Trojan Park. The celebration concluded with a free concert from local band Dirty Muggs.

The greenway now extends from Trojan Park along Stephen Jones Avenue and west to the intersection of Plymouth and Sutter avenues. Community members can walk, run, push a stroller, ride a bike or use a wheelchair along the paved, accessible path that connects them to Trojan Park, Yadier Molina Field, the Wellston MetroLink Station, Metropolitan Education and Training (MET) Center, STL Partnership Business Center, and the new MetroBus stop on Stephen Jones Ave.

“This greenway builds on our long-successful partnership with Wellston for Trojan Park,” said Susan Trautman, CEO of Great Rivers Greenway. “Even in a small section, we were able to make critical connections to transit and destinations for job training, plus create a lovely new community space along the way.”

Thanks to the support of the Mysun Charitable Foundation along with Great Rivers Greenway funds, a small “pocket” park was added at Plymouth and Stephen Jones Avenues, featuring a new deck with a seating area. The landing overlooks a recently cleared area of Engelholm Creek and provides a view of a new rain garden with native plantings. This not only provides habitat for pollinators and welcomes visitors, but also offers a place for the water to overflow during rainstorms. Built to flood, this rain garden filters rainwater and reduces pressure on storm drains. The park also includes solar lighting, a bike rack, a water fountain with water bottle and dog bowl features, and an emergency blue light tower.

Additionally, the development contributed new LED lights along Plymouth Ave., a new parking lot with permeable pavers at the corner of Stephen Jones and Etzel avenues, and a MetroBus stop with improved seating along Plymouth Ave.

“Our community is very excited to have even more of the St. Vincent Greenway to use every day,” said Nathanial Griffin, Mayor of Wellston. “We’re proud of our partnership with Great Rivers Greenway and we love being a regional destination for our parks and greenways.”

Community members can also travel along the existing stretch of the St. Vincent Greenway, which connects them to destinations such as Ruth Porter Mall Park, the West End and DeBaliviere Place neighborhoods, businesses along DeBaliviere Ave., the Forest Park-DeBaliviere MetroLink station, and Forest Park at the Missouri History Museum.

A future path through Pagedale to St. Charles Rock Road that will connect the St. Vincent Greenway from Forest Park to the University of Missouri-St. Louis will be completed in 2024-2025.