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Katy Trail Connection to KC: Problems in paradise?
Monday, December 03, 2007
A pair of recent articles in the KCStar raised various questions, problems, and objections to the Rock Island/Katy Trail connection that has been proposed as part of the Taum Sauk settlement talks.
MoBikeFed called the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director's office today about some of these issues.
Here are the issues & DNR's response:
It might cost far more than the $18 million to build the connecting trail.
The DNR had a cost estimate done by a consultant in 1991. They worked to update the estimate in various ways as the settlement talks proceeded. Making this type of an estimate is always an inexact science with room for error, but DNR says, "We are fairly certain the $18 million will take care of it."
The legislature will have to appropriate the $18 million for the trail construction and there could be resistance among legislators.
All of DNR's budget must go through the GA's appropriations process, including (for instance) the revenue from the 1/10th cent sales tax that is earmarked for DNR. So the $18 million has to go through this same appropriations process, just like the rest of their budget. They don't expect any problems, since the $18 million is already "earmarked" for the Katy Trail connection.
However this may be an area where MoBikeFed and other groups that support the Katy Connection can help to ensure public/legislative support as needed.
The Katy Connection is a "rails with trails" project. The trail will be built off to the side of the railroad line. What will the trail be like?
The Katy Trail is straight and flat because it sits directly on the former rail line. The Rock Island connection won't be like that. It might be narrower, hillier, some accommodation made to fit within the available right-of-way in places. Basically they will have to look at how much space is available and work with that, and of course that will determine what the trail will look like.
The settlement has a 3-year "soft deadline" for completing the Katy Connection
After three years, any funds from the $18 million that have not been used for the Katy Connection are released to DNR for general state park use.
DNR indicated to me that they included this provision because they feel the Connection can be built quickly and they are aiming to get it done in this time frame.
Even if the construction goes over the three year deadline, it is not required for DNR to give up the construction at that point--it is only that it becomes an option at that time.
The interested cities, counties, and organizations need to work with DNR to make sure that the Katy Connection is built within the 3-year time frame if possible, and that DNR holds to its commitment to build the connection even if some unforeseen delays put us past the 3-year mark.
The railroad only has an easement to run a railroad and so running a trail in that corridor will require agreements with each adjoining property owner.
For a "railbanked" trail like the Katy, this issue has been settled. In that case, the property owner is entitled to a payment in some cases, but the property owner has no basis to stop the trail from moving forward.
However the Rock Island will not be railbanked--it will be "rails-with-trails" where the trail is off to the side of the rail line. So this does raise some legal issues and the answers are not as clear-cut as with a railbanked trail.
However, quite number of rails-with-trails projects have been successfully completed across the U.S., and this issue has been successfully dealt with for those projects.
So it can be done, and according to DNR this is one of the first issues they will tackle.
A pair of recent articles in the KCStar raised various questions, problems, and objections to the Rock Island/Katy Trail connection that has been proposed as part of the Taum Sauk settlement talks.