When you've had a really great year, the kind of year for the record books, it can be hard to pick a favorite moment. Still, Dallas Adams, communications manager for Great Rivers Greenway, manages to do it.
She goes with the opening celebration for the extension of St. Vincent Greenway that connects the existing trail to Trojan Park in Wellston.
"This one was just so much fun," Adams says, describing its rain garden installation, seating area, water fountains for humans and dogs, and more. "We did a parade, so we walked the half-mile extension and ended at Trojan Park ... someone was doing a back to school [event]. Someone was shooting a music video. It was a really fun time. There were kids all over the place. We had whistles and ribbons. We had an ice cream truck."
For Great Rivers Greenway, it was a high in a year of highs, one that Adams and others hope will set the organization up for a strong 2024. Last year saw the regional park and trail district open eight new greenways — the most ever in a single year — including the especially notable Pillars of the Valley installation on the Brickline Greenway honoring the now-destroyed historic Black neighborhood Mill Creek Valley.
In 2023, the organization also launched its first-ever merchandise effort in Greenway Goods, which sells items in partnership with local vendors such as Ope Outdoors, STL Style and more, with profits benefiting it operations. It also began a program to help partners and volunteers learn how to maintain the greenways once they are built.
The organization's new greenways in 2023 included segments of the Mississippi Greenway, the Centennial Greenway in St. Charles, the Deer Creek Greenway in Brentwood, a bridge over 1-44 on the Meramec Greenway, the extension to Trojan Park in Wellston and the Centennial Greenway in Olivette.
"[That] makes us feel really good because it is a reflection of the promises that we've made to the people, the reason why they voted for this thing," Adams says. "We are showing people that we are making great use of their dollars."
Funded by a sales tax in St. Louis city and county, the organization generally aspires to spread out its efforts among the region. Most of last year's new additions, Adams explains, are greenway segments rather than completely novel trails. Great Rivers Greenway has a master plan for its greenway expansions and is in the process of creating a scorecard for what to prioritize that will be used in conjunction with community feedback.
The Brickline Greenway is a bit different. The $245 million project will run all the way from the riverfront to Forest Park, with a connector jutting off around the Gate District that will run north all the way to Fairground Park. As of late December, the project was already 40 percent funded through a public-private partnership, and Adams says they'll break ground on the next phase of it early this spring.
"We're connecting so many communities along this 12-mile stretch," she says. "Something like this is really good for the City of St. Louis, and we don't have any greenways that connect the heart of the city and downtown to each other. ... [Greenways] connect our communities; they help us to explore things and to experience pieces of the region that we otherwise wouldn't be in. We're a very car-dependent city. I mean, we're a car-dependent nation. So greenways give us an opportunity to walk through neighborhoods and [experience] amenities along the way."
Aside from all that, Adams says the project is intended to help reduce traffic violence and bring a safe place to walk and bike to St. Louis residents.
Although the Brickline is the project looming largest for many city residents, it's not the only thing on the horizon for Great Rivers Greenway this year. The first will be the opening of Chain of Rocks Park, which will launch with a ribbon cutting complete with "food and music and fun" from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. Located on the Missouri side of the historic bridge, it will include everything from restored natural wetlands and woodlands with trails and picnic areas to art from local artists such as Simiya Sudduth to enhanced security features such as a gated entrance and on-site staff.
In addition, Great Rivers will be extending the Maline Greenway from West Florissant Avenue to Bella Fontaine County Park in Ferguson and adding to the Deer Creek Greenway in Brentwood, as well as the St. Vincent Greenway. It is also planning for a brand new St. Charles trail, the Baltic Greenway. The organization is just starting to reach out to local leaders for collaboration.
"So a quieter year in terms of opening and splash, but we're just excited to continue hearing from the community," Adams says. "We're excited to bring some new things online, just put our hands in the soil and get to work, so that 2025 will have much more to celebrate."
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