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Bike trails taking shape across area

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today reports the idea of a two-state web of interwoven bicycle trails is beginning to take form. Tax-supported local agencies in Illinois and Missouri, like the railroad builders of old, extending a network that will allow riders a choice of routes for pedaling the breadth of the metro area.

As you might expect, Madison County Transit's extensive 85-mile network of trails is a big part of the story, and so are the efforts by Trailnet and the Great Rivers Greenway District in their efforts to build trails on the Missouri side of the river.

"Trails connect us," David Fisher, director of the Great Rivers Greenway District, told the Post-Dispatch. "They let us be healthy together. And they have become very, very popular."

More trails are in the works. Some of those not included in the Post-Dispatch story include a trail that would link O'Fallon, Ill., with the Madison County Trails system near Troy and a trail in Swansea that would tie into the MetroLink Bike Trail in Belleville. And let not forget about the efforts of the ITS Trail Committee, which is trying to build a trail from Staunton to Benld in Macoupin County, Ill., with a long-term goal of linking the Madison County trails to the south and Springfield, Ill., to the north.

Labels: bicycling, Illinois, Missouri, trails

Roger 0 comments 11:10 AM