KC Riverfront Heritage Trail

[kigmee]

Thanks - that's just what I wanted to know.

I'm still pretty steamed that there is no pedestrian access on Grand to Riverfront Park.  I see runners / walkers on that viaduct all the time, and it gets a little too close for comfort when there's traffic in both lanes.  Connecting the trail should alleviate most of that foot traffic.

[rxlexi]

  I can't believe they're still wrangling around on the ASB connection...I thought that was done and opened to the public long ago.  If not, then that's pretty unbelievable, especially with the bigger issue, a new bridge connecting from the west market area down into the Bottoms and the rest of the trail, nowhere in sight.  The complete trail is now a couple years late, and it has been a frustrating process to watch it come together in this piecemeal fashion.

  That said, I did make the ride across the Bottoms and into KCK not long ago (after finally finding the trail under the L&C Viaduct - needs waay more signage in the Bottoms), and this will be a truly cool, urban/industrial trail connecting DT KCK and KCMO when (ever) complete.  I just hope it is sooner rather than later.

[scooterj]

At the other end of the trail, what happened with the connector to Kaw Point?  According to the web site that also was to have been built in Spring 2008, but I was there this past weekend and no work has started as far as I can tell.

[kigmee]

I ran down here last week, and found the trail is closed a couple hundred yards east of the river overlook - a pretty substantial gate was installed to block access.  I could see some construction equipment around the brick building shell.  Are they working on the ASB underpass, or is the activity unrelated to the trail?

[DaveKCMO]

I ran down here last week, and found the trail is closed a couple hundred yards east of the river overlook - a pretty substantial gate was installed to block access.  I could see some construction equipment around the brick building shell.  Are they working on the ASB underpass, or is the activity unrelated to the trail?

they were supposed to be working on an underpass. i see nothing on the CIMO website.

[kigmee]

Has anyone been on the Riverfront Heritage Trail lately?  Is the ASB underpass done?

I was scoping out the rest of the trail on the website http://kcrivertrails.org/images/map-medium.gif and was wondering whether the trail on the east bank of the Kansas River (from I-70 to 23rd Street) is part of this project (it's noted on the map, but in a color that isn't present in the legend).  Has anyone checked that one out?  Is it actually there, or does it just exist in someone's dreams at this point?

Thanks for any foreknowledge you can provide before I actually go down there and trespass on railroad property because no trail actually exists there.

[dangerboy]

Underpass is under construction.  Dirt is being moved as I type.  It is currently estimated to open to the public in January 2010.

The segment along the east or right bank of the Kaw is a proposed trail on top of the levee. At this time the Kaw Valley Drainage District that controls levee refuses to allow it to be used for a trail.  It might take a change in state law to force them.  There is a service road on top of the levee that is rideable in some spots, but for now an official trail in that location is nothing more than a dream.

[DaveKCMO]

i've ridden on that levee. it's not even secured!

[kigmee]

Since I've posted several times about the lack of progress on this trail, I feel obligated to note that the underpass is finally being opened this Friday:
http://kcbike.info/2010/01/12/riverfron ... y-morning/

I don't want to think about how much it cost to connect the trail across the railroad ROW, or how much more trail they could have built with that money if the railroad had permitted a grade level crossing.

[ColumbusParkian]

I'm so happy for this. I walk my dog down there all the time!

[scooterj]

An old thread comes back to life.

It looks like a much-needed segment from the overlook at 5th & Beardsley to Forrester is now under construction.

It's obvious how they'll route it under I-70, but I'm curious how they're going to work it around the ramp connecting eastbound I-70 to southbound Beardsley. If it doesn't include an overpass or an underpass there it seems like kind of a pointless project.

[flyingember]

http://kcrivertrails.org/images/trail-m ... -hires.jpg

this trail is already mostly on the street. they probably won't route it around the ramp

[scooterj]

Yeah I saw that map before I posted, but it doesn't show enough detail to show the actual route.

In the map below, the red line shows the current gap in the trail. Pedestrians must walk in the grass or in the street in this gap. As someone who regularly walks to the West Bottoms using this route, I hate this gap primarily due to need to cross a freeway ramp on street level -- a crossing that has limited visibility for both pedestrians and drivers and requires a fairly good distance of walking in the roadway.

What they started building this week is depicted by the yellow line. To run under I-70, it follows an already-existing dirt footpath that runs about 50 feet west of Beardsley between the west end of the I-70 bridge support and the edge of the bluff.

The part that I am wondering about is where they will run it south of I-70. If it just dumps you back into the street before that exit ramp from from I-70 to Beardsley, it seems to be a pointless project since it's currently quicker to walk in the street and wouldn't solve the problem of pedestrians needing to cross that ramp at street level. But unlike the main I-70 overpass, there doesn't seem to be enough clearance to run the path under the ramp, and the bluff edge is much closer there. That's the part I'm curious about.

[flyingember]

I'm guessing unmarked sharrows like the segments inside the downtown loop

that it will just end up being a be careful segment

[rxlexi]

Bringing back an older thread as I rode the Riverfront trail from the north end of Berkley Park (near the KC Crew volleyball courts) over to Kaw Point Park yesterday.

I was pleasantly surprised to find updated signage and a newer connection (beneath Fairfax Trfwy) to Kaw Point Park in KCK. It is now relatively seamless to exit the viaduct pedestrian bridge and follow the path to the KPP parking lot and on down to the confluence. KPP remains an underused asset - love that space.

The newer trail head in the Bottoms (under I-70 overpass ~8th St) is quite nice but easy to miss, and feels a little off the beaten path without a direct connection up to River Bluff Park at 4th/Beardsley. Although the ride up along the new viaduct and Beardsley isn't bad at all, and is surely a cost-effective solution, I would still love to see a dedicated pedestrian connection, echoing the thoughts above. And still waiting on levee access - hopefully this is not just a pipe dream.

Overall though, a really nice ride and it's great to see the incremental improvements over the years, especially in a city that hasn't taken best-in-class urban recreation seriously. Combined with the new connector trail to Cliff Drive, and the singletrack trails in Kessler Park, this is becoming a really nice amenity for the region, albeit still a bit rough around the edges.

[scooterj]

The bumping of this thread made me realize something I hadn't even considered... with the I-70 construction I guess the path's connection to Kaw Point is broken for the next couple of years?

[rxlexi]

The bumping of this thread made me realize something I hadn't even considered... with the I-70 construction I guess the path's connection to Kaw Point is broken for the next couple of years?

Good question. Currently, one rides right past/next to the construction as you move through the West Bottoms on the viaduct path.

No current obstructions to get to Kaw Point. But don't know what the future holds for that intersection.