ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) -Several new bicycle and pedestrian projects are coming online this spring and summer in the city.<\/p>\n
Most recently, a new stretch of the Brickline Greenway officially opened between Harris-Stowe State University and Energizer Park. The final project will link Forest Park with the Gateway Arch by 2030.<\/p>\n
South of I-64, a new 1.8-mile bike and pedestrian path has replaced traffic lanes in neighborhoods along the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park, part of a growing network of trails transforming how residents move through the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a wonderful day to bike around,\u201d said Beth Klauss, a bike commuter who now uses the pathway for her daily ride. \u201cI work a high-stress job at the hospital, so it\u2019s a good way to get warmed up and then on the way home to kind of decompress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klauss said the new connector has improved her route without significantly reducing parking access to the botanical garden, park or farmer\u2019s market.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad to see any upgrades to the city, especially for those of us who walk and bike and enjoy the outdoors,\u201d said Angela Byrne, who lives nearby.<\/p>\n
Sarah Trende, who works at Running Niche, said the shop has been preparing for the trail since moving to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a personal perspective, it\u2019s cool to see the city improving itself,\u201d Trende said. \u201cFrom a business perspective, we\u2019ve been excited for a while. We knew this was coming when we first moved in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shop has already incorporated the trail into its operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our group runs, it\u2019s made a huge difference,\u201d Trende said. \u201cWe used to go out and worry about people rolling an ankle, but we don\u2019t have to anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emma Klues works with Great Rivers Greenway, which built the new path as part of its expanding network of trails around the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was basically just a sidewalk and a wide road, so we\u2019ve really re-imagined Market Street to work for everybody,\u201d Klues said.<\/p>\n
The Brickline Greenway runs from Harris Stowe past Energizer Park and Union Station into downtown. The trail will eventually travel to Forest Park, the Arch and the new Tower Grove connector.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a nice place for people to get out and walk,\u201d said Cheryl Osby, who works nearby.<\/p>\n
Osby has watched the trail take shape near Harris Stowe, where it includes tributes to Black history and to residents of the Mill Creek neighborhood who were forced out by urban renewal and interstate construction in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great place to connect with history, and we have this nice mural here of the stars of the negro leagues museum,\u201d Klues said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe murals are great,\u201d Osby said. \u201cYou learn history while walking.\u201d<\/p>\n
The advocacy group People for Bikes found that more than a third of Americans rode a bike in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually moved into the city because we can go places on my bike,\u201d Klauss said. \u201cNormally, I would have driven to meet a friend and used a lot of gas, but now I can hop on my bike and get there in about the same amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings more people to the city,\u201d Byrne said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what people want,\u201d Klues said. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard so many people say that this is what they\u2019re looking for when they\u2019re visiting the city or looking for a place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alderman Michael Browning\u2019s ward includes parts of the new connector. He sees the trail as a way to boost businesses and neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we build around people, we tend to attract people,\u201d Browning said. \u201cThis is going to be a big asset for the city. Everywhere you use this kind of infrastructure, whether it\u2019s the beltway in Atlanta or the highline in New York, you\u2019re going to see housing built around the trail, businesses opening. It\u2019s the kind of thing that attracts investment.\u201d<\/p>\n