Rail trail plan presented to Sikeston city council

SIKESTON - Consultants presented their vision for taking the former Union Pacific Railroad corridor in Sikeston to a trail designed to draw visitors into the community and community members outside and active.

Stephen Ibendahl with the I5Group, which specializes in urban and community planning and landscape architecture, and R. Patrick Worzer with Gateway Design Studio, specialized in planning, landscape architecture and design, detailed their master plan for the project at Monday's City Council meeting.

In introducing the consultants, City Manager Jon Douglass noted their work has already helped the city receive a grant which will pay for 75 percent of the first phase of the project with the city to fund the remaining 25 percent.

According to Worzer, the master plan looks at the constraints faced in taking people along the trail such as crossing intersections and drainage ditches to storm water runoff issues. It also makes recommendations about landscaping and signage.

He said one of the pluses of the project is that the corridor will run straight through town, passing parks, residential areas and businesses. The Sikeston Depot Museum will serve as the centerpiece of the trail.

Ibendahl said the plan sought ways to connect the community and provide access to the trail from a variety of points.

"A trail can be an economic driver for a community," Ibendahl said, adding people want to live near such trails and use the trails to commute to work and school.

For phase one, Worzer said the trail will begin just west of the Depot and go to Main Street. It will be setback from Malone Avenue following the existing rail bed. The master plan calls for additional green space, a playground, informational kiosk and seating areas around the Depot Museum as well as seating and landscaping between Scott Street and Prairie Avenue.

While in front of the Depot, the trail will be concrete; planners indicated from Kingshighway to Main Street, the trail will be asphalt.

For the second phase, Worzer said the city has several options in how far to extend the trail and the type of trail. He noted the trail east from Main Street could follow the existing rail bed or it could utilize sidewalks for pedestrians and a designated bike lane for cyclists.

Also as part of the second phase the trail would go west to Westgate Street, connecting to West End Park. This would require some signalized intersections and landscaping as well as a pedestrian crossing at the railroad at Selma Street.

While the third phase, going from Ingram to the Veterans Park is short, Worzer called it a critical part of the corridor. He said when constructing this portion of the trail, the city could then look at options on stormwater retention.

The fourth phase would stretch to the city limits on the east and on the west from the Westend Park to Highway BB, Worzer suggested.

"Our hope is you take this document and use it in an effective way to help promote Sikeston," he said. "It can be an economic driver for the city as it brings people into the city and for the citizens to use."

In response to a question from Michael Harris, the planners said most of the trail will be made from asphalt. Some parts will be formed from crushed rock, which Worzer said settles and becomes an almost solid surface.

The trail, he added, would be 10-feet in width to accommodate both walkers and those on bicycles.

In a related matter, the City Council approved a bill authorizing the mayor to sign a contract between the city and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission providing for the funding and construction of the first phase of the trail. A federal grant through MoDOT will pay for up to 75 percent of the cost of the trail, not to exceed $283,561.