The Great Rivers Greenway District facts for kids

The Rivers around St. Louis

The Great Rivers Greenway District is a special group that started in 2000. Its main job is to create a big network of greenways in the St. Louis area. Greenways are like long, green paths that connect different places. Great Rivers Greenway works with people and local groups to plan, build, and take care of these paths. In its first 20 years, this group built over 128 miles of greenways. These paths link parks, rivers, schools, neighborhoods, shopping areas, and public transport.

How It Started

Great Rivers Greenway began in November 2000. This happened when people voted for something called Proposition C. It was also known as "The Clean Water, Safe Parks and Community Trails Initiative." This vote took place in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County, Missouri.

Proposition C added a very small sales tax (one tenth of one cent). This money was set aside to build connected greenways, parks, and trails. This idea was one of 11 important goals set by St. Louis 2004. That was a group formed in 1996 to help the region grow and improve by 2004.

How It's Managed

A group of twelve people, called the Board of Directors, leads Great Rivers Greenway. These members come from the three areas the greenway serves. They are chosen by the leaders of their city or county. This board decides how to use the money to build the River Ring. The River Ring is the name for the whole system of connected greenways, parks, and trails.

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and their team manage the daily work. They work with local, county, and state groups. They also partner with private companies and non-profit organizations across the St. Louis region.

The River Ring Plan

In 2003, Great Rivers Greenway created a big plan called "Building the River Ring: A Citizen-Driven Regional Plan." This plan set a long-term goal for the St. Louis area. They worked with citizens, local governments, and other groups to make it.

The plan identified over 40 greenways. These greenways would cover more than 600 miles of paths and trails. They called this whole system the River Ring. The idea behind the River Ring is to show off the natural beauty of the region's many rivers and streams. It also helps people reconnect with the main rivers that led to St. Louis being founded: the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

The River Ring system will connect parks, trails, and greenways. These will be in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County. Each greenway will follow the natural paths of rivers and streams. This system will also link up with trails in Illinois.

Every five years, Great Rivers Greenway asks citizens and leaders for their ideas. This helps them update the River Ring plan. Updates were made in 2011 and 2016. In 2020, they started asking people about their top priorities for building and caring for the greenways.

In 2016, the Great Rivers Greenway Foundation was started. This foundation helps find private money for greenway projects.

Explore the Greenways

Here are some of the greenways in the district:

• Boschert Greenway - This greenway goes from New Town in St. Charles. It passes through Fox Hill Park and reaches the Missouri River. It's near Historic Downtown St. Charles and the Katy Trail. You can see a 30-foot flower sculpture called “Blomstre” (which means "Bloom" in Norwegian) where Mel Wetter Parkway meets Little Hills Expressway. An artist named Andrew Andrasko made it from old bicycle parts.

• Brickline Greenway - The plan for the Brickline Greenway is very exciting. It used to be called the Chouteau Greenway. It will have 20 miles of trails and green spaces. These will connect 17 neighborhoods across the City of St. Louis. It will link Fairground Park in the north to Tower Grove Park in the south. It will also connect Forest Park in the west to Gateway Arch National Park in the east. The goal is to bring different communities together through the greenway. This helps overcome things that have divided the city over time. The plan includes ideas from citizens to help the economy grow and make things fair for everyone.

Signage near a completed portion of the Brickline Greenway along Market Street in 2023

• Busch Greenway - The Busch Greenway is in St. Charles County. It connects the Katy Trail to Missouri Research Park. It also links to the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area.

• Centennial Greenway - The Centennial Greenway will stretch from Forest Park in St. Louis City to St. Charles County. Three parts of it are already finished. One part runs from Forest Park through the Washington University campus. It goes to Delmar Boulevard and Vernon Avenue in University City. Another part goes from Shaw Park in Clayton north to Olive Boulevard. A third part goes from the Katy Trail to the St. Charles Heritage Museum. It also connects east across the Missouri River to Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. This connection is made by the Creve Coeur Connector Trail.

• Dardenne Greenway - The Dardenne Greenway follows Dardenne Creek across St. Charles County. One section goes in a loop through the BaratHaven community. It also passes through a restored prairie in Dardenne Prairie. Another section connects Legacy Park in Cottleville to St. Charles Community College and Dardenne Park in St. Peters.

• Deer Creek Greenway - The Deer Creek Greenway goes from Deer Creek Park in Maplewood to Lorraine Davis Park in Webster Groves.

• Fee Fee Greenway - The Fee Fee Greenway stretches from the Maryland Heights Recreation Complex to Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park.

• Gravois Greenway: Grant's Trail - Grant's Trail is part of the Gravois Greenway. It follows Gravois Creek along an old railroad path. Trailnet, a St. Louis group that supports walking and biking, bought this path in 1991. They built the first six miles of Grant's Trail, which opened in 1994. Since 2006, Great Rivers Greenway has made the trail longer. It now reaches 10 miles from Kirkwood to the River des Peres Greenway. It also added two miles of trail in Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park. Along the greenway, you can see the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, Grant's Farm, and the Thomas Sappington House Museum.

• Maline Greenway - The Maline Greenway connects with other paved trails in Bella Fontaine County Park. This park is in north St. Louis County. It is the first part of a planned seven-mile path. This path will connect the Mississippi and St. Vincent Greenways.

• Meramec Greenway - The Meramec River Greenway plan aims for a greenway that is 50 river miles long. It will go from the City of Pacific to where the Meramec River meets the Mississippi River. Five parts of this greenway are already done. The westernmost part connects Lions Park in Eureka to Route 66 State Park. The next part runs along the river on the Al Foster Trail. It goes between Glencoe and Sherman Beach County Park, with a side path on the Rock Hollow Trail. A third part links Arnold’s Grove Park in Valley Park to Simpson County Park and Greentree Park in Kirkwood. In Fenton, the greenway connects Unger Park to Fenton City Park and George Winter Park. The fifth part winds through the low river land in Lower Meramec Park.

• Mississippi Greenway - The Mississippi Greenway used to be called the Confluence Greenway. It is planned as a 32-mile path. It will connect with the Missouri, Maline, River des Peres, and Meramec Greenways. Three parts of it are built. The Riverfront Trail goes from downtown St. Louis north to the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. This bridge is 5,353 feet long. It was part of Route 66 in 1936 and is one of the longest bike and walking bridges in the world. Another part connects Jefferson Barracks County Park with River City Casino. This is near the River des Peres Greenway. A third part runs through Cliff Cave County Park, which has great views of the Mississippi River.

• Missouri Greenway - The main plan for the Missouri Greenway is a 55-river-mile path. It will go from where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers meet to Chesterfield. It will connect with the Mississippi, Sunset, Centennial, Fee Fee, and Western Greenways. Three parts of it are built. One part runs from Riverwoods Park in Bridgeton along the Earth City Levee. It goes to the Discovery Bridge on Missouri Route 370. There, a safe path for walking and biking connects to the Katy Trail. In Chesterfield, the greenway runs along the Monarch Chesterfield Levee Trail. It connects to the Katy Trail on a safe path on the Daniel Boone Bridge. A third part in Hazelwood runs through Truman Park.

• River des Peres Greenway - The River des Peres Greenway plan calls for an 11-mile path. It will go from Forest Park to the Mississippi River. Right now, it runs from Francis R. Slay Park in the City of St. Louis. It passes the Shrewsbury/Lansdowne MetroLink station and goes to Carondelet Park and Lemay Park. It also connects to the Gravois Greenway: Grant's Trail.

• St. Vincent Greenway - The St. Vincent Greenway will be seven miles long. It will go from the North Hanley MetroLink station through the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) campus to Forest Park. Two parts of it are finished. The north part runs from the North Hanley station through the UMSL campus and St. Vincent County Park. The south part connects Trojan Park through Ruth Porter Mall Park to Forest Park.

• Sunset Greenway - The Sunset Greenway is in north St. Louis County. It runs from the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in the old part of Florissant. It goes through St. Ferdinand Park to Sunset Park on the Missouri River.

• Western Greenway - The Western Greenway runs from the Meramec Greenway at Glencoe to Rockwoods Reservation. The main plan is to make the greenway longer. It will connect with Babler State Park and the Missouri Greenway in west St. Louis County.

The Gateway Arch Project

In 2007, the Gateway Arch had been finished for 40 years. But the area around it still felt separate from the rest of St. Louis. Busy highways cut it off from the city and the Mississippi River. Walter Metcalfe, a lawyer and community leader, helped start the CityArchRiver2015 Foundation in 2009. Their goal was to improve the St. Louis Riverfront and the Arch grounds.

In 2010, a company from New York, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, won a contest to redesign the Arch grounds. The project got $20 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2011. It also received $25 million from the Missouri Department of Transportation and $10 million in private donations. The total cost was $380 million, so more money was needed.

Great Rivers Greenway joined the project in 2012. They became part of a team with other groups. This team included the CityArchRiver2015 Foundation and the National Park Service. They planned a vote called Proposition P to get sales tax money for the project. This money would also help other park improvements.

In April 2013, voters in St. Louis City and St. Louis County approved Proposition P. This vote allowed a small sales tax (3/16th of a cent). This money would fund the CityArchRiver project and speed up local park and greenway building. The tax was expected to bring in $780 million over 20 years. 60 percent of this money would go to Great Rivers Greenway. The other 40 percent would help local parks in St. Louis City and County. Half of Great Rivers Greenway's share went to the CityArchRiver project. The other half was used to build greenways faster.

Great Rivers Greenway managed $85 million from Proposition P. They used this money to finish several big projects over the next five years:

• The Park Over the Highway was built. This is like a land bridge over the I-44 and I-70 highways. It connected downtown St. Louis to the Arch grounds and the riverfront. This made it easy and safe for people to walk or bike through the area.
• Luther Ely Smith Square, a green space leading to the Park Over the Highway, was made new again.
• The Riverfront Trail on the Mississippi Greenway was made 1.5 miles longer. It now goes from Biddle Street south to Chouteau Avenue. The road next to it, Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, was also raised to help with flooding.
• The North Gateway opened. This is a new space for fun and events at the north entrance to the Arch grounds. It has an outdoor theater, a bike and walking path to Laclede's Landing, shady lawns, a children’s garden, and a raised walkway with views of the Gateway Arch and the old Eads Bridge.
• The Arch grounds were changed with special ponds, new plants, and easy-to-use paths. These paths connect the Gateway Arch to the Mississippi River.
• Kiener Plaza was redesigned. It is now a public gathering place with a playground, fountains, a splash pad, a grassy area for concerts, shady gardens, and bike parking.
• The Gateway Arch National Park Museum and Visitor Center was updated and made bigger.
• Plans were made to improve the Old Courthouse. This would make it better for visitors and easier to get around. Work was planned to start in late 2021.

The CityArchRiver Foundation changed its name to the Gateway Arch Park Foundation in 2017. This Foundation raised $250 million in private money for the project.