Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

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bhugh
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Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by bhugh »

Bicycling, trails, and community groups have been working on the "Complete Katy Trail" that connects all the way St. Louis to Kansas City for years.  Now we need your help--and the help of ALL your friends--to help make it reality.

Friday the governor officially asked Ameren to hand over rights to the Rock Island Railroad corridor, the section on the western side of the Katy Trail that would connect the Katy to the Kansas City area, as partial compensation for the destruction caused to a state park by the failure of an Ameren-owned dam.

I believe Ameren is susceptible to public pressure and if we can get 1000 citizens or so to email them in support of the Complete Katy Trail it will be very hard for them to say "no".  You can do it in two minutes here:

  http://MoBikeFed.org/CompleteTheKaty

Having the governor and Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) get behind the Complete Katy Trail a really exciting development. 

From the AP story that ran in the KCStar, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Belleville, IL, News-Democrat, and others:
Gov. Matt Blunt wants Ameren Corp. to give the state a mountain and let it use an old railroad as compensation for the Taum Sauk reservoir failure.

. . . he asked the departments of Natural Resources and Conservation and the attorney general to pursue some creative compensation options. Specifically, the governor suggests that Ameren could donate to the state Church Mountain, near Taum Sauk Mountain, and allow the state to use Ameren's section of an old Rock Island Railroad bed as part of the Katy Trail State Park.

"These very valuable properties hold great recreational potential for Missouri citizens," Blunt said in a written statement.

Katy Trail State Park already runs from the St. Louis area westward to Windsor, in west-central Missouri. Use of the old Rock Island line would allow the trail to be extended from Windsor to Pleasant Hill, an outer suburb of Kansas City, said the Department of Natural Resources.
Blunt's official statement is online here:

  http://www.gov.mo.gov/press/TaumSauk041406.htm
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

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Did it. 
KC is the way to be!
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by kard »

This is awesome!  (Perhaps we should have under-regulated dams blowing more often!)  I'm going to hand-write mine; I've asked some folks in St Louis to start spreading the word as well.

Windsor, here we come!
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by shinatoo »

This would be Awsome for the state. And on a more selfish note, awsome for Raytown.

Not to mention all you Downtown folks could just bike out to Royals games.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by scooterj »

How is this awesome for Raytown or for a downtown connection to Kauffman?  This would only get the trail as close as Pleasant Hill.   

Still, this is one of the few things our Gov has done right.

I've hiked the area where that dam burst and it sickens me to think of what all may have been destroyed.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by enough »

caution.  the broader state parks / conservation / environmental community throughout the state is adament that ameren not re-build the taum sauk reservior, and that they not establish such a facility on nearby church mountain.  the katy trail connection idea could be part of a divide and conquer strategy by which ameren offers the trail plus no new taum sauk reservoir in return for a green light on a new church mountain reservoir.  under this scenario, cyclists are being used to divide what would otherwise be a united position against ameren.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by shinatoo »

scooterj wrote: How is this awesome for Raytown or for a downtown connection to Kauffman?   This would only get the trail as close as Pleasant Hill.   

Still, this is one of the few things our Gov has done right.

I've hiked the area where that dam burst and it sickens me to think of what all may have been destroyed.
THe old Rock Island Line continues on through Lees Summit, Raytown and across the TSC. It would be the natural extention for the trail all the way into Downtown. Rock Island doesn't stop at Pleasent Hill.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by staubio »

Sent this personalized message:

Ameren,

Your company requires a dramatic gesture to repair its reputation after the tragic mishap at Taum Sauk.  Considering that the disaster impacted a recreational treasure, your company has an opportunity to put its name back in a good light by opening up the Rock Island corridor.  The Katy Trail is a nationally recognized and massively popular trail. Your cooperation in furthering its potential and connecting it to the Kansas City metro would provide the critical goodwill you need.

It is a no brainer.  Let this idle corridor work wonders for the people and visitors of Missouri -- not to mention your reputation.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by dangerboy »

If I understand the situation correctly, the Rock Island Line segment from Pleasant Hill into KC is slated to be included as a local trail under MetroGreen rather than part of the Katy Trail State Park. 
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by enough »

My understanding is that the Rock Island right-of-way from Pleasant Hill to Kansas City is still under the control of the Union Pacific, not AmerenUE.  The UP would like to reactivate it, mostly for empty westbound coal trains.  If it's on MetroGreen as a trail, that probably represents  more wish than plan
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by dangerboy »

Reactivation is still uncertain.  Lee's Summit has build several subdivisions right next to the rail line, and those folks are in an uproar about the possibility of coal trains interrupting their suburban bliss.  There will be a fight over it if the railroad pushes to reactivate, and Lee's Summit could be a powerful ally on the side of trail advocates.

Even if the line gets reactivated, it would still be possible to have a trail in the same corridor.
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Need to stop UP - convert whole line to trail...

Post by LS_Tiger »

Seriously, it would be very bad for Lee's Summit if the remainder of the RR line from Pleasant Hill to KC was reactivated as a railroad. There is serious housing density up to the line, and significant traffic snarls will happen on Ward Rd., Longview Rd. and Pryor Rd.  Its one thing to have a single RR line through downtown, quite another to have two lines running through town.  All L.S. politicians have been lobbying the state and feds heavily to not allow UP to reactivate. I'm not sure if the state can do much because fed laws are more likely to cover railroads in "interstate commerce".

Hopefully, it will also be converted to a trail, which could bring the Katy all the way to KC. 
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by staubio »

Are there still tracks on this corridor?  Is it currently passable for the enterprising cyclist?
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KChttp://www.hlmusic.com/rockisla

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the rock island line is a mighty good road....
  http://www.hlmusic.com/rockisland.htm
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by dangerboy »

Yes there is track on the Rock Island north of Pleasant Hilll, but it is not in operable condition.  It needs rehabilitation before it can be used for train service.

The Rock Island line is also a potential commuter rail corridor.  MARC has identified is an alternative for the Lee's Summit/Pleasant Hill/Warrensburg line, instead of the congested UP track that currently hosts Amtrak.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by shinatoo »

staubio wrote: Are there still tracks on this corridor?  Is it currently passable for the enterprising cyclist?
There is a section from 59th street in raytown out to about 64th (under the old bridge) that is so overgrown with brush it would be impassable. But you could always take Raytown road for that section. It would be a rough ride.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by mailman641 »

On 53rd st the tracks have been paved over so it is impassable there (for trains).

The old tracks run behind my house and there is a high and steep embankment upon which they sit.  If this does get converted into a trail for biking I hope a fence gets put up so any bicyclist that takes a spill doesn't end up with a broken leg in my back yard!
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by Tosspot »

mailman641 wrote: If this does get converted into a trail for biking I hope a fence gets put up so any bicyclist that takes a spill doesn't end up with a broken leg in my back yard!
Knowing the dipshit liability laws out there they could probably sue you too. I'd get a lawyer.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by dangerboy »

Tosspot wrote: Knowing the dipshit liability laws out there they could probably sue you too. I'd get a lawyer.
Nope.  Missouri law exempts property owners of right of way or property adjacent to trails from liability from things that happen on the trail.
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Re: Governor supports Katy Trail Connection to KC

Post by bhugh »

enough wrote: caution.  the broader state parks / conservation / environmental community throughout the state is adament that ameren not re-build the taum sauk reservior, and that they not establish such a facility on nearby church mountain.  the katy trail connection idea could be part of a divide and conquer strategy by which ameren offers the trail plus no new taum sauk reservoir in return for a green light on a new church mountain reservoir.  under this scenario, cyclists are being used to divide what would otherwise be a united position against ameren.
There are wheels within wheels going on here, that is for certain.

One interesting tidbit is that Gov. Blunt's brother is a lobbyist for Ameren.  Another is (as reported in Mike Hendricks' column about the Katy Trail connection to KC) that Attorney General Jay Nixon was is very upset that Gov. Blunt spilled the beans about the state's demands before negotiations had even begun--the implication being that giving away exactly what you want up front isn't the best negotiating strategy.

And they may be playing a tricky game that could just as easily backfire on them as turn out well.

Incidentally, 371 people have emailed Ameren & DNR so far.  1000 would be nice.  Do it here.  Feel free to add that divide & conquer won't work--they've got to assure safety first and something like this is the icing on the cake.
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