River Des Peres trail to open in St. Louis

Great Rivers Greenway official opens its first completed project this week, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article:

It's not clean, but River Des Peres is going green.

At least that's the hope of a regional trails and open space agency that is putting the finishing touches on a new, $4 million trail and urban "greenway" project featuring the open storm water channel as a focal point.

Because raw effluent mixed with storm runoff flows through the channel during heavy rain, River Des Peres has been described as little more than an open sewer. People who live near the river tell stories of foul odors over the years - although the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District says complaints have subsided.

Instead of shrinking from this gritty legacy, the Great Rivers Greenway District is getting ready to unveil its pilot beautification project on Sept. 16 with a formal ribbon-cutting at the river. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and others are scheduled to dedicate the pedestrian bridge spanning the channel.