Governor backs Complete Katy Trail

Bicyclists and trail advocacy groups, including the Missouri Bicycle Federation, have worked for years to "Complete the Katy Trail". The biggest missing link is to the Kansas City area.

The logical connection is the old, unused Rock Island railroad corridor connecting Windsor, MO, with the Kansas City metro area. The Rock Island railroad line is owned by Ameren corporation.

Today Missouri Governor Blunt endorsed the idea of connecting the Katy Trail to Kansas City via the Rock Island line.

We have been waiting for this opportunity for years--and now is your chance to make a difference.

If thousands of us write in support it will put tremendous pressure on Ameren to deal in good faith. In two minutes you can send a message to Ameren and DNR asking them to work together to make this happen. Visit:

MoBikeFed.org/CompleteTheKaty

More details about the governor's announcement from the Belleville, IL, News-Democrat:

Gov. Matt Blunt wants Ameren Corp. to give the state a mountain and let it use an old railroad as compensation for the Taum Sauk reservoir failure.

. . . he asked the departments of Natural Resources and Conservation and the attorney general to pursue some creative compensation options. Specifically, the governor suggests that Ameren could donate to the state Church Mountain, near Taum Sauk Mountain, and allow the state to use Ameren's section of an old Rock Island Railroad bed as part of the Katy Trail State Park.

"These very valuable properties hold great recreational potential for Missouri citizens," Blunt said in a written statement.

Katy Trail State Park already runs from the St. Louis area westward to Windsor, in west-central Missouri. Use of the old Rock Island line would allow the trail to be extended from Windsor to Pleasant Hill, an outer suburb of Kansas City, said the Department of Natural Resources.

Background on this issue is here.

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