How some small towns are prospering
I ran across this news story in the MO DED’s Economic Development newsletter about how towns along the Katy Trail are prospering.
Apparently, because activities like hiking and biking are cheap, fun recreation, many of the cafes, shops, restaurants and wineries along the trail have seen a dramatic increase in business this year. Count me and Bich among the happy customers, as we rode a short portion of the trail (starting in Rocheport) earlier this summer and had a blast.
Although Kirksville will probably never be a stop along a trail to rival the KATY Trail, it does remind me that we do have so many natural resources in and around town to attract tourists looking to get away from their troubles for an inexpensive weekend or two.
This is one reason why I’m super-pumped about the FLATS initiative, spearheaded by Royce Kallerud. FLATS stands for “Forest Lake Area Trail System”, and it seems this is a project the whole community can get behind: a doable trail from the downtown to the 1000 Hills area. He has been presenting the idea around town and it has been met with universal enthusiasm. The first fundraiser at Ponderosa on Tuesday night was a success.
There is a long-range trail plan posted on the city website that has been in the works for a while. LPRC is going to spend some time talking about it next month. Melanie Smith said the most sensible goal is to focus on marked bike paths, creating a few east-west and north-south corridors through town that bike riders can easily follow. The other item is to educate cyclists and motorists on how to share the road safely along these routes. Royce has tapped into a tremendous amount of research on this subject, so there are some proven techniques we can follow.
We also cut the ribbon on the newest amenities at Spur Pond – ADA compliant access walkways and fishing dock. The next new amenity to go in is a fish cleaning station, thanks to a grant that was just awarded this week to DNR for the project.
Thank you to all who are making these things happen! We’re fortunate to have such great destinations in our own backyard.
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