KCMO approved Ordinance 120505 today which approved the funding and construction agreements to finish the Line Creek Trail to Vivion Road. Special thanks to Platte County Commissioner Kathy Dusenbery who came down to City Hall to testify on behalf of the County. Margie Maasen of Friends of Platte County Parks also did some lobbying for the ordinance but was unable to attend this morning.
Just a short little history lesson on how the Line Creek Trail started and we got to this point. Commissioner Dusenbery's predecessor, Commissioner Tom Pryor, is a long time Line Creek Valley resident and back in 2005 mentioned to current KCMO Councilman Russ Johnson that there was a neat little trail that ran along Line Creek. At the time, Johnson was a member of the KCMO PIAC committe which is the citizen committee comprised of individuals appointed by each Councilmember that recommend funding for capital improvement projects.
Johnson drug a naive and willing KCMO staffer out on a 100 degree July day and walked the old roadbed from 64th Street south to the Line Creek ice rink which was the segment completed last year and shown below.
Later that week, he drug the same naive and gullible staffer out to explore more and they started in Riverside behind the cemetary along Gateway and began hiking north. This gullible and naive staffer really wondered what he was in for when Johnson showed up to wander around the thicket in shorts but figured if he was that committed to exploring the trail, it must be a good thing.
They found an old metal abandonded playground and eventually reached the I-29 bridge over Line Creek which was high enough to drive a tractor underneath. Eventually the excursion wound up at the Line Creek Ice Rink.
The same naive and gullible staffer then invited current Riverside Missouri Mayor Kathy Rose and Riverside Park Board Member Julie Rule (who's family owns the Corner Cafe) to walk the same trail alignment and they realized that the trail is something that would be a huge amenity to Riverside. (funny side, Mayor Rose almost stepped on a snake and the naive and gullible staffer jumped and ran away screaming like a little girl).
The Line Creek Trail was doable and Johnson and fellow PIAC Represenative for the 2nd District Nelsie Sweeney decided to fund surveying for the trail and acquiring the easements to construct it within KCMO. In 2008, easements were acquired and the only obstacle to completing the trail was funding which KCMO provided to complete the trail from Platte Brooke Drive to the Line Creek Ice Rink. With the help of Platte County, KCMO is able to finish the gap and is partnering with Riverside to finish it all the way to Vivion Road.
More details on schedule and timing will be coming out once a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 clean water permit is obtained and construction can begin. I may have missed a few points and apologize if I did. I was writing this while a one year old was sitting on my lap and coloring and trying to type himself. There are a lot more people to thank which I will as we progress.
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