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

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PERC

HECR

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HINKSONCREEK

SCOTT’SBRANCH

SCOTT’S BRANCH

HINKSON CREEK

COUNTY

HOUSE

BRANCH

FLAT BR

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BRAN

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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

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MU NORTHCAMPUS

COLUMBIACOLLEGE

STEPHENSCOLLEGE

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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

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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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