THE GREENWAY IMPERATIVEConnecting Communities and Landscapes for a
Sustainable Future
Charles A. Flink, FASLA
Photo by Jason Reyes
2020 Missouri Active Transportation Conference
Imperative. . . of vital importance, urgent, crucial (adjective)
. . . an essential or urgent thing (noun)
Are greenways an imperative?
“Little of what we’re being told to do feels particularly heroic or world-changing, or nearly enough to satisfy an anxious mind. But for a lot of us, it is, in fact, the job that’s in front of us right now—the role that these disordered circumstances are calling each of us, at a minimum, to play.”
Jon Mooallem, New York Times
Photo: Ted Richardson, VisitRaleigh.com
Photo: Mengxi Cao, 2017
Surge in Trail Use
Surge in Bicycle
Sales
HEALTH, WELLNESS & WELL BEING
As early as 1870, in his essay Public Parks and the Enlargement of Towns,landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted identified the strong link between good public health and community design and opportunities for exercise and access to fresh air and sunlight.
F.L. Olmsted: Health and Wellness
FL Olmsted Sr. Calvert Vaux
“Greensward” 1858
• Reduce obesity in all age groups• Increase physical activity• Control hypertension• Protect against developing non-
insulin dependent diabetes• Improve symptoms of mild-to-
moderate depression and anxiety• Reduce the chance of premature
death• Reduce arthritis pain• Prevent osteoporosis
(Centers for Disease Control, 2004)
Health Benefits of Trails
• Places that support & promote physical activity for people of all ages and abilities
• Predominant features: sidewalks, bikeways, trails, parks and other recreational facilities
• Close to where people live and work and are easily accessible
Active Community Environments
Ecologist Aldo Leopold:
“What’s good for our body is good for our ecosystem”
Chapter Three: Turning Trash Into Trails; Swift Creek Recycled Greenway, Cary, North Carolina
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Great American Outdoors Act
Chapter One: A Close Family Legacy; Anne Springs Close Greenway, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Chapter Eleven: A National Greenway System; Envisioning a Coast to Coast Greenway System for America
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Call to Action: National Greenway
System
• Close Gaps in Greenway Network• Build a Resilient Framework• Establish a Conservation Ethic• Greenways as “Gene-Ways”• Celebrate Culture and Diversity
Warren Manning
Source: US Department of Interior
PERCHECREEK
PERCHE CREEK
PERCHE CREEK
PERC
HECR
EEK
PERC
HECR
EEK
HINKSONCREEK
SCOTT’SBRANCH
SCOTT’S BRANCH
HINKSON CREEK
COUNTY
HOUSE
BRANCH
FLAT BR
ANCH
COUN
TYHO
USE
BRAN
CH
HINKSONCREEK
CREEK
HINKSONCREEK
HOMINY
CREEK
GRINDSTONE
CREEK
HOMINYCREEK
HOMINY CREEK
NORTH FORK OF GRINDSTONE CREEK
SOUTH FORK OF
HINKSON CREEK
BEAR CREEK
BEAR CREEK
BEAR
CREE
K
ROCK
Y FORD
CREE
K
HINKSON
GRINDSTONE CREEK
ROUTE E
BARBERRY AVE
STAD
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BLVD
STAD
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ROLLINS RD
ROLLINS RD
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INTERSTATE 70
INTERSTATE 70
INTERSTATE 70
INTERSTATE 70
LANSING
KELSEY DR
MEXICO GRAVEL RDMEXICO GRAVEL RD
NLA
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VANDIVERTEXAS
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STADIUM BLVD
ROLLINS SRO
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NEW HAVEN RD
SOUTHAMPTON
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DUBLIN AVE
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NORT
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CONSERVATIONAREA
MU NORTHCAMPUS
COLUMBIACOLLEGE
STEPHENSCOLLEGE
THEDISTRICT
UNIVERSITYOF MISSOURI
HOMINYCREEKTRAIL
MKTTRAIL
MKTTRAIL
MKTTRAIL
SCOTT’SBRANCHTRAIL
COUNTYHOUSETRAIL
MU RECTRAIL
SOUTHPROVIDENCE
TRAIL
HINKSONCREEKTRAIL GRINDSTONE
CREEKTRAIL
BEAR CREEKTRAIL
BEAR CREEKTRAIL
4.2 Miles from Jay Dix Stationto KATY TRAIL STATE PARK240 mile Cross-State Trail
AMERICANLEGIONPARK
WOODRIDGEPARK
LAKE OF THEWOODSREC AREA
EASTPORTPARK
INDIANHILLSPARK
McKEESTREETPARK
PHILIPSPARK
NIFONGPARK
ROCK QUARRYPARK
HILLCRESTCOMMUNITY CENTER,MOSS BUILDING &WATERS HOUSE
WATERS-MOSSMEMORIAL WILDLIFE AREA
BROWNSTATIONPARK
LANGEPARK
ALBERT-OAKLANDPARK
BEAR CREEKPARK
SMILEYLANE PARK
GARTHNATUREAREA
BOXERPARK
PARKADEPARK
PROCTORPARK
KYDPARK
STEPHENS LAKE PARK
LIONS-STEPHENS
PARK
WILSONPARK
WYATTPARK
CAPENPARK
GRASSLANDS PARK
FLAT BRANCH PARK
DOUGLASSPARK
WORLEYSTREET
PARK
AGAINSTREETPARK-
ARC
3M FLAT BRANCH-HINKSON CREEKWETLANDSTWIN
LAKESRECREATION
AREA
WESTWINDSPARK
CLARY-SHYCOMMUNITYPARK
KIWANISPARK
COLUMBIACOSMOPOLITANRECREATION AREA(COSMO PARK)
MLK MEMORIALAT BATTLE GARDEN
ROCK BRIDGENEIGHBORHOODPARK
OAKWOODHILLS PARK
FORUMNATURE AREA
JAY DIXSTATION
FAIRVIEWPARK
HIGHPOINTEPARK
COSMO-BETHELPARK
MAGNOLIA FALLS PARK
SHEPARDBOULEVARD
PARK
GRINDSTONENATURE AREA
VALLEYVIEWPARK
BARBERRYPARK
STRAWNPARK
LONGVIEWPARK
LOUISVILLEPARK
DUBLINPARK
BONNIE VIEWNATURE SANCTUARY
SMITHTONPARK
ROTHWELLPARK
CLIFF DRIVEPARK
ALBERT PARK
RHETT’S RUNMOUNTAIN BIKETRAIL
FIELDPARK
PAQUINPARK
SCOTT BLVDTRAILHEAD
DOWNTOWNOPTIMIST
PARK
PARKSMANAGEMENTCENTER
ARMORY
GENTRY
CONVENTION &VISITORS BUREAU
HINKSON CREEKTRAIL
FUNDED 2018
PERCHE CREEKTRAIL
FUNDED 2019
HINKSON CREEKTRAIL
FUNDED 2021
Available oniTunes &
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0 1 mileParks & Recreation Office
N
Pedway/Bike Boulevard
Funded Trail
Gravel Surface Trail
Hard Surface Trail
Funded Pedway/Bike Boulevard
DESTINATION TRAILLEGEND
Parking/Trailhead
Bike Repair Station
Underpass
Restroom - OpenYear Round
Restroom - Open April 15 - Oct. 15
Mountain Bike Trail/Facility
Ozark Greenways
Chapter Eight: Callinthe Hogs; NW Arkansas Razorback Regional Greenway
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2019 NWA Trail Use Study
Celebrate Culture and Diversity
Chapter Six: Miami Means “Sweetwater”; Miami River Greenway, Florida
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Miami River Greenway
Miami River Greenway
Miami River Greenway
Wolf River Greenway, TN
Wolf River Greenway, Memphis
MetroGreen, Kansas City
Source: Stoss New Urbanism
Cowboy Trail, Nebraska
KATY Trail, Missouri
KATY Trail
KATY Trail State Park
Strava Bicycle
Heat Map for
Missouri
DATA COLLECTION: DESIGNATED BICYCLE ROUTES
Florida’s Statewide Network of Trails and
Greenways
Chapter Ten: America’s Longest Urban Greenway; East Coast Greenway, from Maine to Florida
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Build a Resilient Framework for Nature and Civilization
Source: Stoss New Urbanism
“To build a Greenway is to build a Community”
Charles Little
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