What the Katy Trail Connection to Kansas City would look like

Trail

Katy Trail Connection map--click for larger version

advocates from across Missouri, including MOBikeFed and the Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation, are asking Missouri leaders to create a connection from the Katy Trail to the Kansas City metro area.

What would such a Katy Trail Connection look like? What route would it follow?

The Mid-America Regional Council did a study in 2002 that gives several options for developing a Katy Trail Connection. The most promising of these is the "Rock Island Corridor", and unused rail line currently owned by AmerenUE. The line connects Windsor, on the Katy Trail, with Pleasant Hill. From there trails would be built along already available corridors to Lee's Summit and from there connect with the MetroGreen system.katy-trail-sharedcorridor2.gif

Another possibile connection follows the Rock Island line further, from Pleasant Hill through Lee's Summit and Raytown, ending at the stadium complex.

The Frisco Corridor shown on the map unfortunately has reverted from railroad use back to the adjoining landowners, making negotiations for a possible trail much more difficult.

AmerenUE wishes to keep open the option of re-activating this corridor for railroad use. Thus plans for the corridor have included provisions for a "rails with trails" approach in that enventuality. Rails with trails projects have proven workable and safe in many other parts of the U.S.

Katy Trail Connection visualization--click for larger image

Click on any of the accompanying images to see a larger version. All images courtesy of MARC.

Related news article: Quad-state trail system mapped--over 700 miles of trail linking MO, KS, NE, IA