•Centennial Greenway in U City

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CITIZEN COMMENTS:

•Elsie Glickert, Etzel Ackert Park - Tradition of Naming our Parks after Former mayors (link)

Centennial Greenway: Washington University to Delmar Loop

Project Overview (Link)

The Centennial Greenway: Washington University to Delmar project, being developed by the Great Rivers Greenway District (GRG), is a one mile multi-purpose trail that will provide residents of University City and other trail users direct access to Forest Park, the Danforth Campus of Washington University and the Delmar Loop.

This segment of the greenway alignment utilizes an existing off-street pedestrian corridor between Forest Park Parkway and Kingsbury known as “Greenway South.” It will link to another existing pedestrian corridor known as “Ackert Walk” north of Delmar in University City. Residents and business along its length will have safe pedestrian and cyclist access to the Loop, Washington University and Forest Park. The proposed facility is currently in easement acquisition with private landowners along the proposed corridor.

Background

Great Rivers Greenway District

GRG was created in 2000, by the successful passage of Proposition C: The Clean Water, Safe Parks and Community Trails Initiative in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County, Missouri. GRG is funded by a 1/10 of one cent sales tax collected in each jurisdiction for the development of a regional greenway system.

In 2004, the Board of GRG approved its first regional plan titled the “Citizen _Driven Regional Plan” which endorsed the creation of the “River Ring” a regional, interconnected system of greenways, parks and trails throughout GRG’s 1,216 sq mile service area. The Plan identified a regional network of over 40 greenways comprising of 600 miles of greenways and trails primarily located along the region’s rivers and streams and connecting to existing parks and natural areas. The Plan stressed the importance of three principles that can serve as a measure of a healthy region: economic development, social capital and environmental stewardship.

Centennial Greenway Master Plan

Centennial Greenway Master Plan - The Greenway will connect thousands of residents to two of the biggest regional open space assets Forest Park and Creve Coeur Park. Developed over an 18 month period beginning in 2004, the Centennial Greenway is a system of linear parks and a trail that will connect people in Metropolitan St. Louis with the great natural and the cultural assets of the region. It is a vital link in an emerging pedestrian system that will join the Missouri River valley with the Mississippi River

Waterfront, and connect the City of St. Louis with St. Louis County and St. Charles counties. The Centennial Greenway will create a fourteen mile system, passing through nine municipalities and connect the citizens of Clayton, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights,

Olivette, Overland, University City, St. Louis City, and St. Louis County with two of the finest parks in the region and with the entire River Ring greenway system.

The east end of the Centennial Greenway is in Forest Park, one of the nation’s great urban parks, offering a wealth of cultural experiences in the St. Louis Zoo, the Muny and several museums. Forest Park will become a hub for three other proposed greenways, including the Chouteau Greenway linking to the waterfront, the River des Peres Greenway from the south, and the St. Vincent Greenway from the north. At the west end of the Centennial Greenway is Creve Coeur Park, with its diversity of natural and recreational experiences, from sports fields and boating, to wildlife viewing and access to the Katy Trail. Between the regional parks, the Centennial Greenway will connect the multiple cities with each other, allowing people to commute, exercise and explore beyond the boundaries of their own communities. Within each city are local parks, community centers, schools, cultural assets, and commercial centers that are destinations for people from neighboring cities. The Centennial Greenway will provide the connective spine between them, and a new way to see and explore the region, and a safe and interesting means of accessing diverse urban and rural experiences.

Reading the map below, it appears that in University City, the segment from Washington University to Delmar Loop is Phase I (orange).

Another phase I project would be a trail to follow a portion of the METRO Right-of-Way along I-170 from Shaw Park in Clayton north to Greensfelder Park in University City (orange).

Phase II covers the area from the Loop west through Ruth Park (yellow). This will connect to the first two phases above.

CITIZEN COMMENTS:

•Elsie Glicker, Etzel Ackert Park - Tradition of Naming our Parks after Former mayors (link)

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• UCityCitizen.org • Paulette Carr, Ward 2 Councilmember, City of University City • University City, Missouri 63130 •