From my in-box:
First Organized Hike on former Kellar Branch line on Nov. 21
The Pimiteoui Trail Association at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 21 will join other hiking and nature enthusiasts in the first organized hike on the former Kellar Branch rail line as it is being converted into a recreational trail.
The event will begin on the trail at Prospect Road near the former Cohen Warehouse, and will end at the Junction City shopping center, a distance of about three miles, then return to Peoria Heights, to celebrate at TNT Sports Bar and Grill, 4319 North Prospect Road, Peoria Heights (309/ 688-6000).
Members of the Peoria Heights Village Board are expected to be present, and drawings of the trailhead to be constructed at Marietta and Columbus near Prospect will be available.
The public is invited to this free activity, which is scheduled to take place rain or shine.
Those not up to the entire round trip can park at the Peoria Heights Library, 816 E. Glen, and walk the blacktop section from Glen to Knoxville, a distance of about two miles, then back.
Dogs are welcome, but the section of the trail from Prospect to Glen is gravel instead of blacktop, and thus unsuitable for strollers or bicycles. The trail is being converted into a hard surface, as weather and financing allow, in sections.
I find this so funny. The national Sierra Club says that “freight trucks are only 4% of the vehicles on the road, but spew more than 21% of all global warming pollution from transportation,” and that “we must begin to shift freight to rail.” Meanwhile, local “nature enthusiasts” are celebrating their successful efforts to completely eliminate a rail line to Pioneer Industrial Park. Not only have they ensured that we can’t shift freight to rail, they actually caused freight to shift from rail to truck. Lumber that used to be delivered via rail now has to be moved by semi to Pioneer Park. It seems that only in Peoria do we have “nature enthusiasts” who actively fight for more inefficient and polluting forms of freight transportation.
Even more exciting is the plan for their next step backwards — getting people to make extra car trips by driving to a trailhead to walk or bike instead of just walking or biking from home.
Psst! Hey trail fans! Mother Nature just called. She said to tell you, “Stop trying to help.”
Then after all that great exercise, stopping at a bar for beer and pizza? Can’t wait for the grand opening hike through the North End out across N E Jefferson St down to Constitutional Park where all will surrender their wallets from their spandex pants to the thugs who also meet there. (Well I’m hoping those bulges are wallets.)
Isn’t the food and drink at Junction City good enough to celebrate there? Saw about the exact same post about the North Valley hike on the PJ Star site. And speaking about the North Valley, which groups of people used to complain about the weeds being so high in and around the tracks? They need to get their weed whacker and head down by Abington Street area…..
The Abington to O’brien steel section is what the railroad got in the deal to park freight cars on..The trail / Linear Park ends at Park st..From the Railroad Bridge at War DR to Park st. is to become a 100ft wide Linear Park..If a fence or garage is in the way Bonnie Noble says thats too bad..The East section of Springdale has never been developed and is filled with wildlife..B.Noble also said by tearing some of that out will enhance nature along the trail.(nature enthusiasts)? 40,000sg.ft. of my property gets enhanced also..The Northend does not need a park especially through the backyards of 40 homeowners.Can anyone blame us for being upset.Anyway Chef that’s probably why they do not weed wack,they got what they wanted. Good day
Nature enthusiasts, ha! Trying to get the world back to the pre-industrial revolution era as soon as possible, in any way possible.
It will be interesting to see how many actually utilize this trail once it has become available. Of those using the trail, they’ll drive their SUV’s to a part of the trail they favor and then unload their bikes, ride a mile or two, load up their bikes and then drive their SUV’s back the five miles home. Maybe if there is a Starbucks along the way for a latte, more will indulge. But then Starbucks only builds in heavy trafficed areas (where there is pollution creation). Yea, sign me a cynic.
I missed where they are adding bike lanes, or bus lanes for that matter, to all the new roads they’ve added and widened in North Peoria. Where are you people who are trying to save the rails when the roads are being constructed?
Ummm….bike enthusiast….shouldn’t the bikers be pushing for the bike lanes on the new roads? And what exactly does that have to do with ripping out railroad tracks? I have a bike and I ride it to work and around our neighborhood. But for some reason, we must have some sort of magical track for the bikes which result in the ripping out of railroad tracks. For a city short on cash, it seems like the last thing you would want to do.
As P.I. put it:
“For those that say there has been no business out there in at least ten years needing rail, I counter that no sensible business person needing rail service would open up shop there if they weren’t assured the tracks would stay. As we’re ripping out good and viable rail service, other communities are adding and marketing their industrial areas serviced by rail.”
If they had done this when “rails to trails” was first being constructed over 20 to 25 yrs ago, it would certainly have cost less money. But, Peoria seems to always take the expensive route whenever they choose to finally make a decision. Having a place that is safe for families and their children to ride their bikes should have been done years ago. I didn’t see Washington pulling up tracks, but yet they have a fabulous trail system. I wish there were more rail road tracks. I’d love to see Amtrak here. I miss the Rocket! I’m all for public transportation, including bikes and rails! Where is our distinguished Transportation Guru on this? I don’t see any public transportation coming to his hometown.
Point taken, Bike Enthusiast. I misread where you were going with your posting….it seems we have the same mindset.
And the whole unfortunate thing is we could have both, rails and trails. There are many many communities across the country that boast both side by side. It can be done and is being done. But Peoria can’t think outside the box let alone both sides of the box.
SD: There was and remains a strange anti-rail vibe running thru the whole affair. It’s as if some wealthy benefactor had found a way to do both and even helped finance it, they STILL would have agitated to have the rails removed. Dumb.
And I STILL say the Kellar might have made a great part of any future light rail.
you are right on all counts, Vonster. It was anti-rail. Somebody doesn’t want a light rail in the future, for some reason. We will find out eventually. There was big money behind that trail scam, for reasons other than the handful of bike nuts who will use the trail a few times before demanding another “vital link” be built.
Well there is definitely an anti-rail thread running through the area and its too bad because its costing us a lot of money and industry. But under the contract as it appears if the need for rail returns in the future they have to bring it back in the same area that it is now. And it has happened in other areas, so they are not sitting as high and tight as they may think.