Great Rivers Greenway District creates jobs for St. Louis

A St. Louis Commerce Magazine article details the work and benefits of the Great Rivers Greenway District, which is funding and coordinating a web of greenway trails through the St. Louis region:

In November 2000, when 68 percent of voters in the city of St. Louis, along with St. Louis and St. Charles counties, approved Proposition C, the Clean Water, Safe Parks and Community Trails Initiative, they probably weren’t thinking of creating economic growth. But David Fisher, executive director of The Great Rivers Greenway District, says that’s exactly what they did.

“It’s really a project designed to develop jobs,” Fisher says. “We want to be the jobs center.” . . .

Although Great Rivers (formerly called the Metropolitan Park and Recreation District) generates about $10 million a year from the one-tenth of one-cent sales tax, the long-term economic impact could be worth billions.

Fisher says building parks and trails will raise property values. More importantly, it will increase the quality of life and draw people into the area. “Look at MasterCard. Think about what’s really happening in our own region. Why are companies moving to where companies move?” Fisher asks. “It’s where the people want to live. So let’s develop an environment where you want to live, and the jobs will follow.”

This sort of regional planning and funding for greenway trails is a model that should be replicated across Missouri.