ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — With the completion of the northern St. Vincent Greenway expansion along St. Charles Rock Road, area residents can connect to walkways, surrounding neighborhoods, MetroLink stations and more.
The St. Vincent Greenway is one of 16 projects within the Great Rivers Greenway master plan, which encompasses St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.
Once the entire St. Vincent Greenway project is completed, people can connect from Forest Park through St. Vincent County Park, and continue through the University of Missouri—St. Louis (UMSL), and then connect to the Ted Jones Trail and travel into downtown Ferguson, according to Susan Trautman, CEO of Great Rivers Greenway.
Several local organizations gathered for a ribbon cutting Thursday to mark the completion of the northern section of the St. Vincent Greenway.
“We’ve been working on the St. Vincent Greenway for a number of years and we’re beginning to close the gap,” Trautman said. “Today is really exciting because it was a real partnership and collaboration with both MoDOT and Bi State to make this happen, and St. Louis County Parks.”
The southern section is slated to open Saturday, Aug. 5, where a ribbon ceremony and celebration will take place at Trojan Park. The last remaining 1.5 miles of the St. Vincent Greenway is under design and is expected to be completed within the next couple of years.
The expansion of the St. Vincent Greenway will benefit residents, especially those who use wheelchairs and scooters, according to Deborah Vincent, Pagedale alderperson for Ward III.
“At one time, we didn’t have sidewalks on the south side of the street, so it was difficult for people to get around in a wheelchair or a bicycle,” she said. “But now, we have nice wide walkways on both sides, very user-friendly and I can’t wait to get my bike out and ride the entire trail.”
A portion of the Greenway will connect to Pagedale City Hall between Ferguson Avenue and 70th Street with landscaping, a water station, and a callbox, according to Vincent, who said she is excited about that too.
The northern section of the St. Vincent Greenway also connects people to MetroLink Transit stations, such as Rock Road, UMSL North, UMSL South, and North Hanley, according to Charles Stewart, chief operating officer for Metro Transit.
Once the southern section opens, it will connect people to the Delmar and Forest Park-DeBaliviere MetroLink Transit stations.
The St. Vincent Greenway “means more transit available to the community, more connections, better access to jobs, and work, to food, to everything that makes the community what it is,” Stewart said.
Members of MoDOT not only celebrated the expansion of the St. Vincent Greenway Thursday, but also the completion of the two-year, $19 million improvement project of the St. Charles Rock Road Corridor, which laid the foundation for the Greenway, according to Tom Blair, district engineer for MoDOT.
The St. Charles Rock Road improvement project involved resurfacing the road, rebuilding the sidewalks, and reducing a traffic lane to reconfigure drainage from city limits to Interstate 170.
“This was another great success where we were able to work with (Great Rivers Greenway) and incorporate a regional greenway into the state highway system along St. Charles Rock Road,” Blair said. “We’re really thrilled that we were able to get that done.”
MoDOT is partnering with Great Rivers Greenway on other greenway projects.
Trautman said she is looking forward to people using the trails.
“The best part is people using it,” Trautman said. “The whole part of building the trail is getting people out, using it and having a good time. That’s why we do the work.”
A celebration of the new Meramec Greenway took place in June and features accessible walking and biking paths on the new I-44 bridge at the Meramec River.
This fall, Great Rivers Greenway and the city of Olivette will celebrate a new portion of the Centennial Greenway, as well as a new community center in Warson Park.
For more information about the Great Rivers Greenway, click here.