The path forward along the Kansas River

There’s a lot to like about the concept of a bike trail along the Kansas River, from Junction City to Wamego. There are also some major bumps on the path forward, if you’ll pardon the wordplay.

The concept surfaced this week in public meetings; among other things, the Riley County Commission agreed to support the concept, without committing any money.

The idea is to build a trail along the river, the origin of which is at Junction City. (History lesson: The reason for that city’s name is that it’s the location of the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers. Those two merge to form the Kansas River.)

The trail itself is envisioned as partly paved and partly unpaved. It’s 44.5 river miles in the region we’re talking about. It’s also potentially part of a network that would include Topeka and Lawrence, so that there could be a network along the entire river’s length, east all the way to Kansas City, according to Christy Rodriguez. Ms. Rodriguez is the head of the Flint Hills Regional Council, the entity that’s trying to move forward with the concept.

Right now, it’s just an idea, without any money behind it. The regional council is gathering input and indications of general support from area communities and trying to get some help from federal entities to do the planning that would put some oomph behind it.

It’s a tantalizing idea. If people here could ride a bike the entire width of our region — and make use the river that unites us all — that would be a significant lifestyle upgrade. It’s worth exploring, certainly.

Major questions remain: Who would pay for the trail, and who would maintain it? When the river comes up — which it inevitably will — who will fix the trail when it washes out?

Possibly most importantly, at least at the outset, is this: Will private property owners be willing to allow a trail to cut across their land? Land all the way up to the riverbank is private property, at least in most places. Perhaps there would be benefits to property owners who do so, but clearly the government is not going to take that ground by force.

Ms. Rodriguez says a network of trails could be started just by building around public access points already in place, near boat ramps in each community. It could connect to pre-existing trail networks, including the Linear Park trail in Manhattan. Building the whole thing all the way out could take decades, she acknowledges, and might not even be possible if property owners are unwilling.

So it’s not something to hold your breath about. Lots of potential hurdles. But we salute the regional council for moving forward with the project, and we encourage local governments to be supportive. — Feb. 24