Federal grants to fund Katy Trail improvement
The city received federal grants to encourage alternative transportation.
Published Dec. 4, 2008
Last week, the Columbia Public Works Department held a meeting for citizens to discuss upcoming improvements and connectors to the Katy Trail.
The four projects under consideration include a proposed sidewalk and bikeway along Stadium Boulevard, improvements to the trail along Forum Boulevard and the addition of connectors to the trail.
Engineers were on hand at the meeting to address questions from residents.
Mary Hooley, an assistant project manager for GetAbout Columbia, said Columbia was one of four cities across the country to receive a federal grant slated to end in 2010. The purpose of the funding is to encourage more biking and walking and less dependence upon automobiles for transportation.
Before the federal grant, some objectives for reconstruction and consolidation of the Katy Tail already existed.
"There were plans in place, but they were piecemeal," Hooley said. "The construction will be faster with this funding."
Progress thus far on the projects has been slow.
"There are so many levels that we need to go through," Hooley said. "City government, state government and the Missouri Department of Transportation, and the federal funding."
The sidewalk and bikeway construction along Stadium Boulevard between College Ave. and Providence Road has been recommended on the north side of the major road.
David Nichols, manager of engineering and inspections for the city, said construction along the south side of Stadium is "something that we can work toward," providing that a right of way acquisition is obtained.
The plans for this sector of the improvements include not only the construction of a six-to-eight-foot sidewalk or bikeway along the road, but also the placement of signals in parking lots along the south side of Stadium and markings to designate pedestrian right of way.
Nichols said the plans should be underway by this upcoming summer if funding is allocated.
"It would be great if we could start before the school year," he said.
Also discussed was the construction of connectors from the trail to the neighborhoods located next to the Acacia fraternity house on Stewart Road and from Clarkson Road, which is south of University Village.
The steep, hilly alignment of the straight path caused concerns among some residents about both the terrain and the integrity of the utilities, sanitary sewers and drainage thoroughfares.
Marie Dennis, principal engineer for the St. Louis-based Access Engineering LLC, said that these "topographical challenges" caused the neighborhood to consider another route for the connector.
The association devised a new trail that leads through a less steep area and connects to the university community.
"The lower Garth Trail is more pleasant, and the new alignment tries to get a wider connection to campus," Dennis said.
A third project involves three possible routes connecting Wilson's Total Fitness Center to the trail.
Tom Ryan, senior traffic engineer and project manager for the city, emphasized the accessibility of the trail from the Katy Place Apartments on the opposite side of Hinkson Creek. He said the tenants of that complex are very supportive of the project.
Woodrail, the residential community next to Wilson's, held a community meeting and decided against any connection from their community to the trail.
The existing bridge across Hinkson Creek is "really narrow," Ryan said, and because part of the pathway leading to the Katy Trail is already paved, the construction plans to widen this 10-foot-wide concrete walkway with two feet of gravel on either side.
The construction of connectors leading south on Forum Boulevard from its intersection with Katy Lane was also discussed.
Eric Mumford, who gathers information for city databases, said the existing path is steep and slippery.
So far, this plan has received no controversy from the public, and despite the fact that the connector does come close to the private property on the intersection Mumford said the residents were "happy to have a trail in their backyard."<!—EndFragment—>
