REDEFINING A REGION
MERAMEC GREENWAY AND FLOODING MITIGATION IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY When Taylor March, programs director of Trailnet, stopped to talk about Great Rivers Greenway’s growing River Ring on a blazing, cloudless mid-July morning, flooding mitigation was one of the first things he mentioned when asked about the importance of the trail network. “As somebody that lives just off the Mississippi and the River des Peres, that’s a really important component as well,” he said. A few weeks after that conversation, thousands of St. Lou- is-area residents endured a historic downpour that flooded parts of the city and surrounding counties. The greenway network helped absorb some of the floodwaters. The Meramec Greenway ( rtc.li/meramec-greenway ), which parallels its namesake river, is a prime example cited by the Great Rivers Greenway team. St. Louis County has dedicated space along the winding 108-mile river to rec- reational and natural preservation offerings. The nonprofit group Resources for the Future ( rff.org ) estimated that by protecting the land along the Meramec rather than develop- ing it, the county saves about $7.7 million in annual avoided flood damage. Last spring, parts of the Meramec Greenway in Fenton, Sunset Hills and Kirkwood were underwater. Lonny Boring with Great Rivers Greenway told residents that, while it was unfortunate that the trail was partially closed, it was serving part of its purpose. "You may not hear as much about how it floods now, because homes and clubhouses that used to get dam- aged by the Meramec have been removed,” Boring said, according to the Webster-Kirkwood Times . “What's there now as a greenway trails and recreation area is more suitable for a floodplain." •
“I don't know about the other perspectives, but for Black people, for me, it's a chance to shine the camera back on us, that we were here.” Vivian Gibson, Author and Historian, on the developing Brickline Greenway Market Street segment
walked up to the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Administration Building and tried to open the door on a Saturday. No luck. “Are you a student here?” Gibson asked. “Yes, ma’am.” “Do you know that this was a historic school in a historic community, this building?” “Yes, ma’am. This used to be a teachers college.” “Before that it was a high school in a Black community that doesn’t exist anymore. Before the teachers college. So look it up—Vashon High School in Mill Creek Valley.” “Yes, ma’am.” “OK, thank you, darlin’,” Gibson said to him, and then turned to me. “And that’s what you have to do.” Gibson, author of “The Last Children of Mill Creek” ( rtc.li/last-children-mill-creek ), will share the history of the former neighborhood of more than 20,000 Black St. Louisans with those who ask, and those who need to know it. The community was bulldozed in the late 1950s in the name of urban renewal, and there are few signs left of what once stood there. The Brickline Greenway ( rtc.li/brickline-greenway ) project will change that. The Brickline is envisioned as a trail network that will eventually connect 14 city neighborhoods over the span of about 20 miles of walking and bike paths. Along with providing connections, the Great Rivers Greenway team also views the Brickline Greenway as a way to create equitable opportunities for the residents it will serve. The portion that will run through what is now known as Downtown West is among the active projects, and in the design stage. It features a protected walking and bi - cycling path that will travel from the Harris-Stowe State University campus toward Downtown, passing St. Louis’
PHOTOS: (Left) The Meramec Greenway in St. Louis County; (top) author and historian Vivian Gibson on the steps of what used to be the second-oldest Black high school in St. Louis
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FALL 2022 RAILS TO TRAILS
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