Reply to Rock Island Trail Informational Meeting - March 12

MO Farm Bureau is hosting a Rock Island Trail Informational meeting on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 pm at the Stover Community Center. Panel discussion will include, MO Farm Bureau, Ameren, State Parks, Arendt Fox, and MORIT - MO Rock Island Trail, Inc. Trail supporters are encouraged to attend and speak up about the benefits of trails! Thank you.

This appears to be the same type of resistance from farmers and land owners that was shown for the KT before it was approved and built. Is there a benefit to the farmers and landowners to use the trail for access and transport between properties and fields too?

My father's farm is bisected by the Katy, and I clearly remember the collective resistance when it was proposed back in the 80's. I was not a rider back then, so I was on the fence about which way it should go. I was also familiar with a few other farms on the Katy. Without exception, each of the farms is in better shape today (in the areas surrounding the trail) than before. The Katy is kept clean and well-managed compared to other trails I have been on throughout the country.

I watched many of the towns along the Katy head into a death spiral in the 70’s and 80’s, only to be stabilized in the 90’s, and a few even actually growing. I won’t attribute all of their good fortune to the “Katy Effect”, but the Katy Trail is always prominent in the promotions of the successful towns.

So the first thing the Rock Island farmers will see is a significant upgrade in the way the area looks. A few of them are using the Rock Island as their personal dumping ground and will resist any attempts to bring them come up to code. Those are the kind of neighbors that no one wants, but they exist (I have one behind my back yard today). The more forward-thinking landowners will take advantage of this upgrade to the area. Some of them will open shops and B&Bs, but even if they don’t open a business, they will benefit from the increased sales tax flowing into the towns.

Thank you Don. Well said!

I would also like to comment about the type of people that a new trail will attract, which I believe to be really 2 groups of people.

The First group of people is the locals: A trail's impact on building "community" cannot be appreciated until one sees it happen. In addition to individual or small group use, organized walks, pub crawls, 5K's, development of public areas, etc. will all re-vitalize the community in a manner that is only limited by the local people's imagination. Freindships will be made. Good things will happen in the community.

The second group of people it will bring is tourist/bike riders. What a great group of folks to bring in! They are good folks with money to spend who go to bed at night because they are tired from riding. They won't cause much trouble. Then they will go home. Don't believe me? Do a little research online and find out about some of the little towns out west that have built trails to attract just such tourists.

I do believe Don and Arky should attend the meeting. What do you all say?

I agree with you Anonymous!

NPR read this