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Warsaw set to become "most bike friendly city in Missouri"

Submitted by Brent Hugh on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 10:53am

The City of Warsaw has added the latest key link to its impressive trails system.  According to an article in the Benton County Enterprise:

Image courtesy City of Warsaw
Image courtesy City of Warsaw

Throughout the past several years, the city has been working on a vast trail system that highlights some of the area’s main historical attractions. When completed, the trail system will encompass more than 25 miles of walking trails in total and include use for pedestrians, bicyclists, mountain biking, equestrian trails, water trails and multiple use trails.
 
The city recently completed one of the most vital sections of the trail system with a foot bridge that now links the Drake Harbor Trail directly to the Swinging Bridge Trail. Both sides of the river are now connected together and the trail begins in the Drake Harbor area and connects to the northwest and under the 7 Highway Bridge.
 
The Drake Harbor Trail was designed to be the heart of the vast trail system. Drake Harbor has quite a historical significance on the city of Warsaw, and according to City Administrator and Planner Randy Pogue, all of the trails have been named in order to showcase each of their historical significance to the area.
Warsaw has made the trails system a centerpiece of the area's economic development plan--and that plan is working very well, drawing thousands of visitors to events and to enjoy the natural beauty of the area each year.
 
The trails system in Warsaw started with the development of the Truman Lake Mountain Bike Park--a system that now features over 30 miles of trails, hosts about a dozen special events each year, and attracts riders from all over Missouri and the midwest.
 
The success of that effort has led the city to embark on a plan to make Warsaw Missouri's most bicycle friendly community.  According to an article in Rural Missouri Magazine:
Randy and his Parks and Recreation Director Mac Vorce are at the center of an effort to transform Warsaw into the state’s most bicycling friendly town. Already, Mac has put Warsaw on the map for mountain bikers and trail runners, with 13 miles of trails and a stop on a mountain bike race circuit.
 
“Last October we had miles of mountain bike trail,” says Mac. “By Dec. 20, we had 15 miles of trail out there. Now we are seeing youth in our town say, ‘Hey, that might be cool.’ They are riding out there and not playing video games, not being hoodlums in town. We are seeing people trail running and hiking there.”
 
The next step is to link a series of channel-control levees into what will eventually be a 15- to 20-milelong hiking and biking trail with a gravel surface like the Katy Trail State Park. When completed, the trail will connect area attractions such as the Truman Lake visitor’s center, the Joe Dice Swinging Bridge, Lost Valley Fish Hatchery and Sterrett Creek Marina. The trail the community leaders envision will form a wheel around Warsaw, a city of 2,070 located 30 miles south of Sedalia. Spokes on that wheel will eventually allow kids to ride their bikes to school and to soccer and baseball practices. Residents and visitors alike will be able to ride to the restored downtown area, home to ?ne dining and shops.
 
Photo: Truman Lake Mountain Bike Park, courtesy City of Warsaw
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