Plan for regional trail and greenway funding underway in Kansas City

A recent KCStar story outlines the plans to develop a regional trails and greenway district in the Kansas City metro area. The district would be similar in concept to the existing Great Rivers Greenway District in the St. Louis metro area.

The proposed language for creating the district can be found in SB 165 (see section 66.430 through 66.435 in this version of the text).

According to the KCStar article:

Enabling legislation was recently presented in the Missouri Senate to extend the authority to establish a Kansas City regional district. However, the measure did not win approval, said Marlene Nagel, community development director for the Mid-America Regional Council.

Area parks advocates hope lawmakers reintroduce the measure when state legislators reconvene.

“Throughout the metropolitan area, cities and counties have heard from their residents about the need for better support of parks and trails,” Nagel said. “Most city and county budgets are limited, and this (regional district) would provide an opportunity to meet those needs.” . . .

The enabling legislation would require a public vote for any county to participate in the regional park and trails district. . . .

In St. Louis, voters approved a ballot measure to establish the greenway district. Two Illinois counties approved a similar district for their state. In 2001, the Great Rivers Greenway District began collecting a 0.1 percent sales tax to support the district.

About half the revenue from the sales tax collected was invested in regional projects. The other half of the money support local parks and trail projects in participating cities.