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Reply to Trail conditions north of Weldon Spring


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Reply to Trail conditions north of Weldon Spring
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Linda from Chesterfield on 2/13/2016 12:18:37 PM:
Any updates on the big ruts in the trail here and also between Mattson and Augusta? Assuming they won't fix until March?

 
Joe from St. Louis on 2/16/2016 11:47:03 PM:
I haven't been on the trail since last November but the area around Weldon Springs was in bad shape last year. There were several deep ruts, potholes and washed out areas, as well as downed trees, branches and big rocks/boulders covering the trail. The entire stretch of trail that traverses St. Charles County is suspect. I notified the MO DNR as well as St. Charles County about the poor condition of the trail there.

I've navigated the entire length of the Katy Trail several times and St. Charles County by far has the worst section of trail. It's a disgrace to our state, especially considering that St. Charles County is the wealthiest county in Missouri and one of the most populated. This portion of the trail should be very well maintained considering those points. We need to hold the proper people accountable for this in the future and make sure they do their jobs to keep it maintained.

Please help if you see issues and let the proper agencies know. If one or two people call they don't do anything but if 100 people call they'll have it fixed in a timely manner. Some of the deep ruts, potholes and washed out portions in St. Charles County have been there for several years since I've noted them. So it's pretty obvious that whoever is in charge doesn't care and will continue not to until we come together and hold them accountable.

This bill that's been proposed to allow golf carts and atvs on the trail will only make this situation worse going forward for walkers/hikers/joggers/cyclists. The trail is already poorly maintained in some areas without the burden of heavier motor vehicles that will further compound the problem by adding exponential stress, wear and tear to the trail. I would venture to guess that an atv or golf cart on a wet, sloppy trail would be the equivalent wear of several hundred walkers/cyclists. For example one atv speeding around a curve on the trail after a recent rain could leave quite a decent sized rut or the weight of the vehicle could cause a loose section of the trail to collapse or erode. Hopefully people care about the trail and don't let it go to hell through apathy and abuse. The Katy Trail is world class and truly one of the most treasured places in Missouri.

 
Anonymous on 2/17/2016 8:35:31 AM:
And it wasn't that long ago there were discussions here about DNR being underfunded. We needed more money than allocated to maintain the trail, yet it makes sense to some to allow the maintenance cost to be drive up further.

 
dennis on 2/17/2016 1:42:52 PM:
Linda, I rode from the Research Park connector (~52MM) to Defiance on February 1st. The trail was fine. There was only one slightly damp area that was being touched up with a grader that day. I didn't ride on the Matson to Augusta stretch.

 
Dutch on 3/18/2016 5:31:35 PM:
It was passable all the way thru this week

 
JenK from St. Louis on 4/2/2016 5:32:05 PM:
The St. Charles part of the trail continues to be miserable. I don't mind (and expect) a few ruts here and there, but this part of the trail (from Page overpass to St. Charles) makes for an unbearable ride. Who, exactly do we need to be calling about this?