Marion walkway taking new steps

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
It took a long time coming, but Marion residents who value the idea of physical fitness could be sporting a broad smile in the not-so-distant future.

That’s because a 1998 Strategic Planning Committee Vision Document- Marion, “Best Place I’ve Seen” to live, work, learn, visit, play and retire- resurfaced at a recent Marion Chamber of Commerce meeting.

“I was on the committee that dealt with the ‘play’ part of it,” Casey Case said from his Case & Sons Insurance office in Marion. “The first thing we decided to tackle was the trail part and Michelle Lundy (Tampa State Bank) agreed to help me with it.”

Case said the project has no connection to the controversial “Rails to Trails” proposal in Marion County.

“We aren’t looking to develop anything outside the city limits of Marion,” Case said. “This is strictly utilizing the old rail bed that lies within the city limits of Marion and the flood levee that surrounds the city.

“We’re not looking to take over anybody’s farm ground or get sideways with anybody within the agricultural community.”

Case said he and Lundy worked on the project for about a year before each encountered life-altering situations.

“My father was diagnosed with cancer and Mickey got pregnant, so we both had issues to deal with and the trail kind of got put on the back burner,” he said.

“My father obviously died and my workload increased, and Mickey’s daughter is about 3 years old, so we’ve both been pretty busy and the project fell through the cracks.”

But Margo Yates, executive secretary of the Chamber, pulled the 1998 document from the files recently and asked about the progress of the plan.

“Margo deserves the credit because that’s how this reared its head again,” Case said. “She asked me to give a program at Chamber on the trail and that got the ball rolling again.”

Case said there aren’t any definite names for the project but ideas have been bantered about.

“Salina called theirs a linear parkway and we thought that sounded better than a trail,” he said. “We thought maybe the Marion Linear Walkway would be a good name.”

A two-phase project, Phase I includes the old Santa Fe rail bed.

“Most of Phase I is already there-in fact, you could almost utilize that as a trail already,” Case said. “All we’d have to do is get some crushed material, drop it along the path and get a heavy roller and smooth it out and there’s your trail.”

Phase II includes the flood levee surrounding the southwest side of Marion along the Cottonwood River.

“When we started developing plans for this, the library project hadn’t been completed, but now that it’s done, that would be a nice little hub with plenty of parking space,” Case said. “The old rail has a neat little loop or spur that comes around so you could start at the library and come around the loop and end up where you started.”

Case said the rail bed extends about one mile, one way.

Establishing ownership of the ground, now that it’s no longer in use by the Santa Fe, was a point of contention.

“At one time a local attorney was working to get the city access to the trail between the library and Main Street,” Case said. “I’ve been told the city has the right of way to that ground, but from Main Street to the northwest, we still don’t have 100-percent clearance.”

How much the project will cost is another question.

“We aren’t sure how to estimate the cost of the project,” Case said. “It depends whether the city comes on board and we include their labor as cost or not, but I’d like to think we could do Phase I and have it up and running nicely for under $10,000.”

Just where those funds will emanate from isn’t certain yet.

“I know the city doesn’t have anything in its budget for it this year,” Case said. “Hopefully, we’ll get it allocated for next year, but we’d like to get things going if not this spring, then this fall.”

A similar 3.1-mile project was completed on the Salina flood control levee in 1995 with 80 percent of the funding coming from a Kansas Department of Transportation grant through its Transportation Enhancement Program and the remaining 20 percent from the City of Salina.

“We went to the Salina trail back in February of 2000,” Case said. “It’s pretty simple. Basically it’s just screenings that were laid down on top of their levee and they have signs that gave a kind of map and a visual aid.

“We looked into funding through grants, but we figured out real quick that it was over our heads,” Case added. “We didn’t have the time or the resources to go through that, so we looked at it as a city project, and I think that’s probably where it’s going to end up.”

Phase II offers other challenges but Case said the groundwork has already been laid for the 2-mile addition.

“We called out to the Corps of Engineers and they have absolutely no problem with us utilizing the top of the dike as long as we don’t cause any damage or alter the infrastructure,” Case said.

“The only problem is when you enter the dike from Main Street, you’re going to look at backing trucks on the dike all the way to the railroad tracks, dumping their load and driving out,” he said. “The city has concerns that there’s potential for an accident if someone isn’t paying attention and gets their wheels off the edge.

“But it has to be rocked, because it only gets mowed a couple of times a year and that would alleviate the tall grass.”

Parking would also be enhanced with the addition of Phase II, according to Case.

“The dike ends on the north end by the race track (Green Acres) and there would be a lot of parking out there,” he said. “You could have a nice 5- or 6-mile hike or ride with the two combined, very easily.”

Case said there aren’t any plans to light the Walkway and currently no curfew exists on the dike.

Crossing the train tracks and roadways also causes concern but Case said the solution may be to end the walkway before crossing either thoroughfare.

“We’d just have the path stop and you could walk over the tracks or lift your bike over and start back down the path,” he said.

Who would be responsible for patrons of the walkway was also discussed.

“I suppose the liability would be covered just like the city park or any other city property,” Case said. “To be liable for something, you have to be negligent, so unless you caused a hazard out there, it’s hard to prove you’re liable.”

Case said he hoped the city would be responsible for maintenance, which should be minor.

“Other than a gopher or a beaver burrowing in and a hole needing to be filled, I can’t think of much else to maintain,” he said. “The walkway will be for any non-motorized conveyance.”

When the Walkway is completed, Case said Marion will be proud of what the community has.

“I think it will be a great asset to Marion,” he said. “It’s going to be slow going, but hopefully we can get a group of people that once we get a walkway established, will want to take some sort of ownership in it.

“Maybe we could form a committee similar to the beautification committee that could do things like sign upkeep.”

Case said nearly all the people he’s encountered that talk about the walkway are in favor of it.

“We really haven’t had any skeptics,” he said. “This is part of the plan they came up with in 1998 and I don’t think you could find many arguments that say hiking and biking isn’t a good idea and an improvement in the quality of life.

“When it’s completed, it will be great,” he added. “I don’t know how much personal satisfaction I’ll have in it, but I’m sure once it’s done I’ll be spending a lot of time on it personally.”

Case said the first annual Rhino 5-kilometer race held in conjunction with Chingawassa Days last spring would also benefit from such a walkway.

“Our route goes through town right now, but that (the walkway) would be an excellent place to hold that event.”

Currently, no fund has been established for interested donors, but Case said any help or money would be welcome.

“We sure won’t turn down money, time or labor,” he said.

Once completed, Case said the walkway would be a scenic splendor for Marion.

“You’d be right along the river and you really wouldn’t have any traffic to worry about,” he said. “You see a lot of people walking around Marion and they all have their own special route but I think, especially in the dike area, it would be a beautiful area to go in the mornings.

“I think the walkway is something people in Marion will really enjoy using and be proud of once it’s completed.”

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