Rock Island Trail, Woo Hoo!

I know the process, especially the ending, was messy and unsatisfying to some, but I’m excited and ready for the Rock Island Trail expansion. I’ve biked to the current end, stared down the debris strewn Kellar Branch, and wondered, "When?" It seemed such a waste.

The six-mile long, Kellar Branch, will hook up the Rock Island Trail with Peoria’s Riverfront, and eventually East Peoria, and Morton, making part of a network that stretches more than fifty miles.

So, trail users could conceivably get on the trail anywhere from Morton to Toulon, and walk, bike or cross-country ski to any place in between. It will link nine Central Illinois communities. How cool.

I admit I have a bias on this issue. I had a “Build the Trail Now” sign in my yard and owned a bumper sticker. I bike, hike, and bird the trail and love it. The habitat along the route is beautiful and diverse, a real balm for the soul.

For too long commercial desires took precedent over the quality of life issues of the populace.

It’s not just tree hugging, ex-hippies that use the trail, I’ve shared it with seniors in visors walking as groups, bicycling moms getting some exercise, and working persons on their lunch hours in their business casual and tennis shoes. Whole families use the trail together, with kids on little bikes or in trailers behind their parents. People walk their dogs, jog, and hunt for flowers and birds. Folks walk intently, pedometers clicking while trying to lose a couple pounds. There are casual bikers and serious cyclists in training, heads down and resolute.

It’s been a long time coming. Now is the time to rinse the bad taste of the ignoble ending out of our collective mouths and move forward. Make whatever few deals are left, and dive into the “sweat on the brow” hands on part of the project. All I have to say is, let’s get going and "Build the Trail Now"!