Katy Trail to KC – Not Likely

Ken Midkiff

Not so fast. As usual, the devil is in the details and the details in the proposed Settlement Agreement (between the State and AmerenUE over the Taum Sauk Reservoir collapse) bode ill for any extension of the KATY Trail to the Kansas City area.

Consider:

1.The Rock Island Line - that AmerenUE does NOT own - was never "abandoned" and is therefore ineligible for the Rails to Trails designation.

2. AmerenUE ceded only the rights that it has to the State (with an exception, see #3 below). Those rights pertain to running a railroad .

3. AmerenUE could not cede the right to the railbed - since Qwest has an easement for a fiber-optic cable under the railbed (but not under the current tracks).

4. Because of #3 above, the State is limited to constructing a trail parallel to the railbed. This means an all-new trail, including a foundation and bridges.

5. The trail that the State constructs must be 25' from the center of the railbed. This is not a problem for most of the route, BUT where there are rock cuts only wide enough to accommodate the railbed, the trail must go over the top of the cliffs. Not very bicycle or pedestrian friendly.

6. Since the Rails to Trails Act does not apply, the State must get the permission of literally hundreds of landowners to construct the trail (since the landowners granted easements for a railroad, not a trail). While MDNR/State Parks is granted the statutory authority to exercise Eminent Domain, it is very unwilling (and rightly so) to use this legal option. If even one of the landowners refuses to grant an easement, the matter would end up in court for perhaps years.

7. The $18 million that AmerenUE would give to the State to develop the trail is not nearly enough. MODOT and USACOE estimate $1 million per mile - the extension is around 45 miles long.

While as an avid bicyclist, I, too, would like to see the KATY Trail extended to KC, this is NOT the way to accomplish it. There are so many obstacles, that it just won’t or can’t happen.

Prediction: The State Parks folks will make much of constructing the KATY Trail on the small sections in public ownership – rail crossings, for example. There will be photos in the STAR and videos on TV showing workers with shovels and picks, with backhoes poised in the background.

Unfortunately, it won’t mean much. To paraphrase Shakespeare, “Sound and fury, ultimately signifying nothing”.