Conceptual Alignment of St. Vincent Greenway in Wellston and Pagedale is Ready to Go

For more than six months, Great Rivers Greenway has been working with Beyond Housing and Forum Studio to gather community feedback to develop the route for the St. Vincent Greenway through Wellston and Pagedale. This new, two-mile section will connect the existing segments to the north and south; making it possible to walk or bike all the way from Forest Park to the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

“The goal of the citizen engagement process in Wellston and Pagedale was to identify what community assets or places the residents want the greenway to connect to, what they want to be able to do on the greenway, and what they want the greenway to look like,” says Vontriece McDowell, Beyond Housing director of community engagement.

“We were thrilled with the number of people who participated in surveys, open houses and stakeholder meetings,” says Megan Riechmann, Great Rivers Greenway project manager. “Based on their enthusiasm and feedback, it’s clear that the residents and businesses in Wellston and Pagedale recognize the potential of the greenway to not only become a vibrant community asset, but also spur economic development.”

The conceptual alignment extends the current edge of the greenway at Etzel and Skinker north to Stephen Jones Avenue, where it will link The MET Center, Eskridge High School site, Pagedale Family Support Center and the planned development at the St. Charles Rock Road MetroLink Station. It continues off-road through the Metrolink Station all the way to the existing greenway within St. Vincent County Park.

“Establishing the conceptual alignment is a critical milestone for a greenway project of this magnitude,” says Riechmann. “Now that we understand what the community wants, and the route we have to work with, we can begin design in 2015.”

The district showcased the new alignment to the community at Beyond Housing’s Health Fair on Saturday, October 25th.

Other organizations providing support and feedback on the St. Vincent Greenway in Wellston and Pagedale project include the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations, St. Vincent Greenway Inc., More than Carpentry, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

To see a “fly-through” video of the new conceptual alignment for St. Vincent Greenway in Wellston and Pagedale, visit http://www.greatriversgreenway.org/greenways/st-vincent-greenway.aspx. To learn how you can explore existing greenways, visit www.greatriversgreenway.org.

About Great Rivers Greenway:

Great Rivers Greenway is a regional parks and trails district created by a vote of the people to connect St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. The organization is making the St. Louis region an even better place to live by connecting our region with greenways to conserve natural resources, enhance our economy and improve our quality of life with more transportation and recreation options. For more information, visit www.GreatRiversGreenway.org.