MO's Rock Island Trail: Neighbors of Rock Island in Lee's Summit prefer trail | News | Lee's Summit Journal

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Bikes are better than clanking freight trains, at least when they’re rolling through your neighborhood.

That’s the reaction today from Lee’s Summit residents who, in the 1990s, were determined to stop a proposal by the Missouri Central Railroad to buy the idle Rock Island Railroad and start running freight trains from Kansas City to St. Louis.

That plan died and the Lee’s Summit Railroad Task Force disbanded.

Its former chairman, Tom Townsend, said Jackson County’s recent purchase of the section, which runs from the Truman Sports Complex through Raytown to Hamblen Road in Lee’s Summit, was welcome news.

“I’m excited that the county has ownership now,” Townsend said. “It’s a great security to me.”

He lives in one of the neighborhoods that sprouted up around tracks that had seen no trains for years. Some homeowners were surprised to learn the railroad property line was only yards from their backyards.

MoBikeFed comment: This is more local reaction to the recent purchase of the westernmost 17.7 miles of the Rock Island Corridor, through several communities in Jackson County. This section of the trail leads to the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City and will eventually connect with the Rock Island Trail State Park and the Katy Trail State Park to create a seamless, 500-mile cross-state trail system.

More information about the recent $52 million deal to purchase the westernmost 17.7 miles of the Rock Island corridor:

http://mobikefed.org/2016/05/historic-deal-missouri-trails-jackson-count...

More about Missouri Rock Island Trail:

http://mobikefed.org/RockIslandTrail
http://mobikefed.org/2014/10/its-official-rock-island-trail-track-become...

Join MoBikeFed's Advocacy Network

MoBikeFed is a statewide group of people like you, working together for better bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri. When you join our advocacy network you receive occasional important advocacy alerts and bicycle, pedestrian, and trails news from around Missouri.

Working together we make a real difference! Join our advocacy network:

Want better bicycling and walking in Missouri?
We rely on the support of members like you.  Please join, renew, or donate today.