Meetings about Rock Island Trail next week--last link of Katy Trail-KC connection

After years of work and negotiations, planning for the last piece of the Katy Trail-Kansas City connection along the old Rock Island Railroad line is getting started in earnest.

Since trains stopped running along the Rock Island Corridor in the late 1970s, adjoining communities Kansas City, Raytown, Lee's Summit, Greenwood, and Pleasant Hill have eyed the corridor as a potential rail-trail and commuter rail corridor.  However, despite decades of work, no progress was made until recently.

Union Pacific owns this portion of the Rock Island line, which stretches from Pleasant Hill to the Royals/Chiefs sports complex near the I-70/I-435 interchange in Kansas City.

However, in 2008 when Ameren UE signed an agreement with the state of Missouri allowing the use of 47 miles of the Rock Island Corridor to build a trail connecting the Katy Trail to Pleasant Hill--and more recently, another agreement with the state the Rock Island Trail would be build on the trail bed rather than along side--Union Pacific's thinking about its portion of the Rock Island corridor started to change.

Negotiations and plans between area communities and Union Pacific have been moving forward since that time--and now have reached the next key stage, where public meetings will be held to talk about details of potential future use of the corridor.

Plans for the old railroad corridor include use as a biking/walking trail and a commuter rail corridor linking Kansas City, Raytown, Lee's Summit, Greenwood, and Pleasant Hill--and creating the final link of the Katy Trail-Kansas City connection.

Public Meetings October 22-23

Come on out to the first public meetings about the new rail/trail corridor to

 - Find out the latest about the Rock Island Corridor and what is planned

 - Give your input and ideas about the plans for the Rock Island

Preliminary plans are for five commuter rail stations along this part of the line: Raytown, 350/Noland Rd, Greenwood, Pleasant Hill.  (A station in south Lee's Summit is possible, too--perhaps near where the line crosses 291 Hwy.)  The two planned meetings will focus on different proposed station areas:


MONDAY OCT 22ND, 5:30-8:00PM

Station Area Focus: 350 Hwy/Noland Rd, Raytown, View High
Raytown City Hall-Council Chambers
10000 E 59th St
Raytown, MO 64133


TUESDAY OCT 23RD, 5:30-8:00PM

Station Area Focus: Greenwood, Pleasant Hill
Memorial Buidling
212 Cedar St
Pleasant Hill, MO 64080

Free pizza for those who attend!

If you can't make the meeting, MARC has created an online discussion area where you can leave your thoughts and ideas about the corridor plans.

Also of interest:

  • We have heard through the grapevine that Missouri State Parks is close to announcing the completion of the railbanking agreement on the first six miles of the Rock Island Trail from Pleasant Hill to Windsor--with construction of that portion of the trail to be completed in the next few months--and a timetable for railbanking and construction of the remainder of the trail, on the railbed, to connect Pleasant Hill to the Katy Trail.  Construction of that portion of the corridor will be in 2014, according to the timetable.
  • Don't forget the Rock Island Run I, Saturday October 27th in Pleasant Hill--our celebration of the first completed section of the Rock Island Trail.

Click images to view the full-sized version.

Connecting the Katy Trail from state line to state line and to communities along its route across the state has been one of the top priorities of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Progress in making our vision a reality is very exciting!

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