Quad States' Trail, Part II - Trail development challenges and solutions

By Katie Blesner

People and their communities enjoy many benefits when hiking/biking and equestrian trails are located nearby. Despite numerous benefits, trail advocates often face many obstacles in their quests for trail development. These challenges have prompted supporters to build partnerships and develop connections with other supporters to implement their dreams for more trails.

Some of the challenges are emotional reactions like “stranger danger,” the fear of unknown people going past your home and the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) supporters who think the idea is good, as long as it occurs somewhere else. Disagreements over property rights can delay or stop trail development, particularly in projects that convert inactive railroad right-of-ways into nonmotorized trails.

Other challenges are financial or physical, such as building a financial partnership to provide millions of dollars and crossing over rivers, roadways or railroad tracks.

The Heartland’s expansive area, low overall population density and traditionally cautious approach provide regional challenges. In its larger cities, there are both taxpayer demand for trails and willingness to spend tax dollars on trail development. In rural areas, where many of the taxpayers have not experienced walking or biking on trails, a number are opposed to spending tax dollars on an improvement they don’t think they’ll ever use. Outside funding, such as federal grants and private donations, is usually needed. Especially in rural areas, which lack the population base to generate the local tax dollars required to implement projects spanning miles, a variety of funding sources are required.

Building Public Support

“Human beings are apprehensive and fear the unknown; we read stories in the paper [about the perils of strangers in neighborhoods],” says Ross Greathouse, a trail advocate for more than 25 years and Quad States’ Trail co-project manager. “When I was growing up on a ranch in Banner County [Nebraska], we would go into town, and I remember being afraid of strangers there. I thought they were bad folks. Rural people are good friends with their neighbors and do things for each other, but when you think about strangers coming by your house on Sunday, many feel it’s not safe anymore.”

An effective strategy used to alleviate people’s fears about strangers using nearby trails and to overcome trail opposition is constructing an initial one-to-three mile trail. Greathouse reflects back on the importance of getting that first mile done and on his first trails conference in 1989. “An old attorney from Denver and his son spoke about the work they’d done on the Platte River Trail in Denver. Something that stuck with me that they said was, ‘If you have right-of-way of one mile, build a trail on it. The local citizens will get cranky and ask for more trail. Get them involved on getting that next section done.” Ross says that when the MoPac Trail was started in Lincoln, Neb., “They built the first piece out to Walton—three miles. People got on the trail and insisted on more.”

“In the early days I specifically remember talking to city council members and they felt ‘Trails are for places like California,’” says Larry Foster, administrator for Omaha’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Public Property. “They liked golf courses and tennis courts and felt those were what we needed. Trails were for crazy liberals. We snuck in the first segment of trail, then the council members got calls, and more calls, asking for it to be extended.”

For the City of Council Bluffs, the impetus for the development of recreational trails was development of the Wabash Trace Trail, says Ron Hopp, director of the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Public Property. “It generated excitement with people wanting to get involved. It piqued interest within the community and generated demand for urban trails.”

Steve O’Neal, a Union Pacific Railroad engineer and Marysville, Kansas City council member, is counting on construction of a two-mile trail linking Marysville to the Kansas segment of the Homestead Trail to spark support for trails in his community. “We hope that with the trail we can show what the benefits are for economic development, improved land values and its environmental impact. It will provide a buffer for the Big Blue River—rather than being farmed, it will be open space.”

O’Neal describes Marysville’s trail organizers first attempt at trail development in 2003 and 2004: “[We were] beaten down in our initial effort—where funding was available, land was available, and the planning was in place to develop trails in Marysville.” He says it was a “hot issue” with lots of speculation and innuendo; the mayor and some of the city council were against construction of the urban trail that would connect to the Homestead Trail, so the city had to return the grant funds it had been awarded.

Several changes have occurred in Marysville that have caused trail advocates to be optimistic about construction of the urban trail segment. First, a component of the trail master plan—construction of two miles of sidewalk, a type of pedestrian trail—has been a great success. “We’re getting a large amount of people, young and old and families with strollers, using the sidewalk,” says O’Neal. Second, in recent city elections, the mayor who opposed trails was beaten. The new mayor and a newly elected council member support trails. Marysville is again planning to build the two-mile trail connection to the Homestead, this time using private funds. The Homestead Trail (from Lincoln, Neb. to Marysville, Kan.) is becoming a reality—construction is underway. “We have to educate people on what trails are about by giving them a chance to experience trails,” says O’Neal.

Andy Clements, assistant director of Public Works for St. Joseph, Miss., says that setbacks are typical on trail projects. “There’s lots of planning and re-planning” when the original strategy doesn’t work out and the group needs to develop a new strategy. Clements says that for most of St. Joe’s history, walking and biking was an effective method of transportation. “In the ’50s our town, like a lot of towns, built new areas that were designed for cars. Lots of areas don’t have sidewalks and kids can’t walk in streets, so parents keep them at home. People are disconnected.” He argues for re-looking at basic things like sidewalks. “Then we need to think of trails as a way to retain green spaces, and we need to find a way to provide pedestrian transportation. When we have opportunities for rail trails, we need to develop them and not let them go.”

In Kansas, trail development is an uphill battle in its infancy, says Ed Lincoln, a long-time Wichita, Kan. trail supporter. As more trails are established and people have the opportunity to experience trails, popular support will blossom like it has in other states. Lincoln has a metaphor for building a trail system: “Culture the pearls and string the pearls together. Get community trails, even short segments, then go to the community edges, then expand to the next park or lake. People will begin asking, ‘Why aren’t we hooked into the next lake, the next town?’”

Resistance to trail development is found in both urban and rural areas. Both Foster and Bob Cole with Pottawatomie County Economic Development mention individuals who travel to other parts of town or to other states to use a trail, but who fight against trails in their own neighborhood or community. Cole said continuous education is needed to get across the message that “Trail users aren’t trash and criminals.” He feels it is essential to talk to adjoining landowners and people with easements one on one. “You’ll find the majority of people are in favor of a trail,” he says.

Brent Hugh with the Missouri Bicycle Federation echoes the need for strong communication and for fairness. “When the Katy Trail was first proposed, there were big pockets of resistance, and many of the community ringleaders were the biggest obstacles. Many of the opponents were landowners who felt they were dealt with unfairly. Some people got payment for the taking of what they saw as their land and other’s didn’t.”

When the Missouri Speaker of the House Rod Jetton and several state representatives bicycled with a group across Missouri in 2005, Hugh went along. They stopped at towns along the Katy Trail, meeting citizens and city officials. “In Hermann, which is on the other side of the river from where the Katy Trail runs, they’re now very interested in tourism.” Hugh says many of the civic leaders felt betrayed about what happened when the trail was developed, but now the hard feelings are in the past. “Now they’re trying to get funding for a bridge to cross the river.” Hugh feels the key to eliminating resistance is to deal with people fairly. “A lot of the problem might go away if it’s seen as fair.”

In Missouri’s rural areas, aside from the Katy Trail there’s no significant mileage for rural trails, says Clements. He says there hasn’t been a large group pushing for larger trail sections in Missouri. “We don’t know if there’s resistance because nobody has tried.” In Missouri, Clements says, trails won’t take off until they become part of a larger thing.

The city of Lincoln, Neb., is so convinced that trail access is important that they commit city tax dollars to trail development. Once trails are in place, surrounding property values increase, says Terry Genrich, Natural Resources and Greenways Manager for Lincoln Parks and Recreation. “When I see realtors advertising homes for sale, they’re mentioning that they’re near a park and a trail. There has to be a benefit or they wouldn’t advertise it.” He says a recent study showed that houses that back up to a park or greenway demand 25–30% higher prices than other homes, which generates more tax dollars.

Funding Trail Development

Money for trail development comes from private donors, trail advocacy groups and tax revenue collected by cities, states and the federal government. Particularly on rural trails, much of the labor to construct trails is provided by volunteers. Dennis Toll with the Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau discusses the variety of funding types needed to implement trail systems. “The Manhattan area trails have been funded through local and state government sources. The linear greenway trail is funded through city and county governments. The state park trail is funded through state government. If the Manhattan to Marysville to Lincoln connection happens, it will be our first experience with some private funding of a trail.”

A primary source of public money is the Transportation Enhancement Fund available through the Federal Highway Administration. Grants are available for many nonmotorized transportation projects, such as sidewalks, hike/bike trails, transportation museums and visitor centers. If a project is approved, the federal government will usually reimburse 80% of the project costs. The project sponsor funds the other 20% of the costs, using local government and private funds.

“No doubt about it, without Transportation Enhancement funds we wouldn’t be where we are with trails today,” says Greathouse. Foster says that trail supporters must be vigilant about funding. “Transportation enhancement funds have been key to trail success. But there are continued pressures to reduce or redirect that funding,” says Foster. Transportation Enhancement Funds are reauthorized about every six years, when Congress develops new federal transportation funding legislation.

Unpaid volunteers are the lifeblood of the trails movement. They can be found fundraising with bicycling and walking events, soliciting donations from individuals and foundations, and actually building and maintaining trails.

Frank Meyer, for example, is a volunteer who’s working on 150 miles of trail on a former MoPac Railroad right-of-way in Kansas. He and five friends got involved in 2001 when they paid $60,000 in back taxes for the land. They formed an organization called the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy, recruited about 300 volunteers, divided the trail into 20-mile divisions and began building. Currently Meyer is working on a 60-mile section for which they raised about $180,000. “We’re not spending a dime on labor. Machinery is donated. We’re using the money to buy fuel, limestone screenings and fencing, and hand rails on bridges.” Three of the volunteers, including Meyer, have their own bulldozers (Caterpillars) that they use to blade the heavy ballast off the right-of-way. Meyer’s grader, named Kitty, goes all over Kansas helping build trails.

Another volunteer is Greg Losh, whose day job is a carpenter for a school district. He started as a bicyclist and became involved in a cycling group. Each Thursday they would get together for food and riding. “We were always good stewards and hauled our own trash out, but other riders didn’t. Our group was getting blamed for things it wasn’t doing, so we took on the responsibility for cleaning up the trail, putting out trash cans, then signs, and then cutting trees.” His commitment caught the attention of other volunteers and two years later he became a Wabash Trace Nature Trail board member.

The surface of the Wabash Trace, like the Katy and Homestead Trails, is limestone screenings and requires regular maintenance. Volunteers regularly re-grade and resurface the trail, build bridges and control weeds. Losh’s role of recruiting volunteers for Wabash Trail repairs has been made easier because of the Internet. He can send an e-mail to 300 people and usually get six or seven people who know him and know the trail that will show up and go to work.

Geographically Challenged

Trail connections can also be challenged by geography. For example, bridging the Missouri River—which separates Nebraska and Kansas from Iowa and Missouri—provides a significant challenge. In some cases, bicycles and pedestrians can cross on automobile bridges. However, bicycles and pedestrians are not allowed to use the interstate highway bridges unless the bridge has a protected lane for nonautomobile traffic. Bridges crossing wide or strong rivers cost millions of dollars to construct.

In the “Back To the River Trails and River Crossings Plan,” Big Muddy Workshop, Inc., an Omaha landscape architecture firm, evaluated highway bridge crossings on the Missouri to determine if pedestrian crossings could be added to the bridge. When it was determined that the I-480 bridge linking downtown Omaha and Council Bluffs could not be altered, the Workshop evaluated other methods of crossing the Missouri River, including a pedestrian bridge, a water taxi and an aerial tram. Royster says the study determined that the pedestrian bridge was the best solution and that the funding provided the basis for federal funding. “This area was very fortunate to have a US senator, Bob Kerrey, who took a personal interest in trails,” says Royster. “He believed in the value of trails as a way to build strong families by being outdoors and recreating together.” Kerrey’s support resulted in a federal appropriation for the pedestrian bridge, which will be a regional icon and connect the communities of Council Bluffs and Omaha and their trail systems. The Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge is under construction, with a 2008 completion date.

Railroad lines are also a challenge for trail development and public access to natural features, particularly rivers. In Kansas City, Miss., a new bridge was constructed across the railroad tracks that parallel the river to convey people from downtown to the banks of the Missouri River.

Tenacious Dreamers

One characteristic all trail advocates have in common is their passion for trail development. The challenges they’ve faced have required individuals, agencies and organizers to work together, often forming their own trail support communities. These groups generally cross geographical and political boundaries.

Omaha was late to the game of constructing public trails, but the city has been good at catching up and now has one of the better trail systems nationally, says Foster. “Key to the Omaha metro system has been the creation of an overall group of officials and others that meet regularly and ensure orderly development of the system. We’re working together as a multi-jurisdiction group to plan and implement trails.” Omaha works with housing developments, neighboring cities and collaborates with Council Bluffs.

Says Greathouse, “The building and connecting of recreational, nonmotorized trails is succeeding because of the cooperation of government—local, state and federal—with the volunteer individuals and user-groups who have raised funds and built facilities. I am personally driven by my associations with trail friends, both private and public, and by my desire to leave this world a little better than I found it.”

Photos Courtesy Big Muddy Workshop, Inc.

Related: Quad States' Trails - Connecting Heartland Communities (Part I of this article)

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