South Garth Trail Connector Neighbors Reach Agreement
The South Garth neighborhood recently held a trail Walkdown and a Neighborhood Meeting to continue discussion about the creation of an MKT trail connector. Residents from both north and south of the MKT trail were invited. About 20 attended the Walkdown and about 30 people attended the meeting.
The neighbors ultimately voted to support an eight foot neighborhood trail that, upon Council approval, will go from the Grasslands new playground, over a bridge to the MKT trail then meander up to connect to the east end of Lathrop Avenue. The funding for this project has not yet been approved.
The PedNet Coalition considers this trail connector an important project for many reasons. It will improve the safety for children walking or riding bicycles to Grant Elementary School or the library, it will allow more people to use the MKT trail to travel to downtown Columbia, and it will improve the health of fitness of many people who will gain greater access to the fitness trail.
The South Garth neighborhood also expressed concern about pedestrian and bike safety along Stewart Rd. between Providence and Garth and at the Garth/Lathrop intersection. They will continue to work with the city to see that quality improvements continue there.
