Warsaw Riverfront Trails

WARSAW NAMED AS 1 OF 12 BEST COMPLETE STREETS POLICIES IN U.S.

City of Warsaw has been selected as having one of the 12 Best Complete Streets Policies in the U.S. in 2017. It joins 11 other cities who received the recognition from the National Complete Streets Coalition (NCSC), including Baltimore, MD; Las Cruces, NM; Quebec City, Quebec; Florida, FDOT; Philadelphia, PA; Stonham, MA; Bloomfield, NJ; Bonita Springs; FL; Alexandria, VA; Rochester, NY; and South Bend, IN.

The NCSC wanted to highlight communities around the country that have already taken great strides to address equity and implementation through their Complete Streets initiatives. In its recognition of Warsaw, it further stated that “Despite its small size and limited budget, Warsaw successfully implemented its extensive trail network and kicked off a broader Complete Streets program by using a “three P’s” approach: planning, partnerships, and personnel.

Warsaw developed its 2006 Trail Masterplan through a collaborative planning process between Town staff, community members, and landscape architecture students from Drury University. These groups conducted visioning exercises to develop a rough concept plan for the trail network that engineers later refined. Having an established plan and vision for the entire network made Warsaw more competitive for state and federal grants. The collaborative process got community members excited about the project and gave internal staff clear direction for how to build out its network. Warsaw’s planning efforts also facilitated public and private investment near the trails for everything from historic building restoration projects to new entertainment and recreation facilities.”

According to the NCSC, “To make the waterfront trail network and on-street Complete Streets connections a reality, Warsaw curated strong partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, including MODOT and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Due to Warsaw’s proximity to the Truman Dam, the Corps of Engineers owns a great deal of waterfront property in and around the town, and they lease many of these properties to Warsaw for its recreational facilities.  These include Warsaw’s golf course, baseball sports complex, mountain bike system, and historic Drake Harbor, all of which connect to the waterfront trail network. The Corps of Engineers was a valuable partner throughout the planning and construction processes by authoring strong letters of endorsement to support grant applications.

MODOT was another instrumental partner in creating on-street connections to the trail network. When MODOT planned to repave State 7 that runs through Warsaw, the town advocated for the addition of buffered bike lanes along the route to extend access to the trail network.

Finally, Warsaw took steps to empower town personnel to get their hands dirty by implementing projects on the ground. The town held training for its Parks Department staff to equip them with the skills they’d need to construct and maintain their own trail projects. In addition to building skills, this training shifted the internal culture at Warsaw’s Parks Department by giving staff members a sense of pride and responsibility for these projects and helping them understand the value they bring to the community. The training also made it far easier for the town to fund and implement small-scale projects by providing additional staff time and labor to satisfy grant requirements, and Warsaw saved time and money that might otherwise have been spent on outside contractors.”

CLICK HERE FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE for Warsaw’s 1st. Trail Award.</strong >

AWARD FROM COALITION FOR RECREATIONAL TRAILS

City of Warsaw Receives National Trail Award. Warsaw is one of ten communities to receive national recognition for its high-quality trails.

This is the second recognition received in 2018 for its trails. The Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT) announced the winners for the 2018 Tom Petri Annual Achievement Awards in recognition of outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds. The awards ceremony hosted by CRT member organizations was held in Washington, DC on June 5, 2018, at the U.S. House of Representatives Rayburn Office Building. Representing CRT were Marianne Fowler and Derrick Crandall, Co-Chairs, and Duane Taylor, Vice Chair and Awards Committee Chair.  The awards are part of annual efforts by national trails and outdoor recreation organizations to promote the importance of RTP funding to States across America. Award-winning trail projects and programs are funded through the Recreational Trails Program of the Federal Highway Administration.

In the category of Community Linkage, Warsaw’s Drake Harbor Recreation Area was the national winner. In receiving this award, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers was recognized as an important partner in the many trail projects the City has completed in the 20 years of continuous effort.

Mayor Eddie Simons states, ”We are very grateful to receive this award.  The award from the Coalition for Recreation Trails, along with our earlier recognition this year from the National Complete Streets Coalition for being 1 of 12 best Complete Streets Policies in the nation for our trail efforts and complete street connections, illustrates to our residents and those that visit, that Warsaw is a special place in the nation for recreational opportunities.”

Since 2010, RTP funds have been used for a multi-phased trails system in Warsaw. The Warsaw Riverfront Trails Project was planned, designed, and constructed to provide an accessible pedestrian and bicycle connection between downtown Warsaw and the Drake Harbor Recreation Area. This recreation area contains multiple riverfronts and interconnecting trails along the waterfront and the access road into the harbor.

This RTP project is an important section of a multi-phase plan that will ultimately provide over 20 miles of accessible trails and “complete streets” throughout the City and to surrounding recreational activity sites. Three miles of continuous trail has been constructed that extend from the Bledsoe Ferry Sports Complex, below Truman Lake, to downtown Warsaw. This trail system allows for pedestrians and bicyclists to safely travel from the sports complexes to downtown and beyond without crossing any roadways.

Due to Warsaw’s proximity to the Truman Dam, the Corps of Engineers owns a great deal of waterfront property in and around the town. They lease many of these properties to Warsaw for its recreational facilities. These include Warsaw’s golf course, baseball sports complex, mountain bike system, and historic Drake Harbor, all of which connect to the waterfront trail network.

“We have patiently planned and applied for funding for our trails in a phased approach”, stated City Administrator and Planner Randy Pogue. “This phased approach allowed us to not sacrifice quality over quantity.  Our goal has always been to provide a quality outdoor experience on a quality network of trails.”  Pogue further states, “We want to give special recognition to our City crews. They have been physically involved in the construction of almost all the trails funded with RTP funds.  Their labor in all aspects of the construction allowed us to use the RTP funds strictly for construction material costs.”

The award gave further recognition in two areas of design.

Trail Activities

The Warsaw trail system was designed with a commitment to allow all users to enjoy the outdoors. This includes residents, out of town visitors, and those with disabilities. A new trailhead project was undertaken to encourage more trail users to access the network. The trailhead functions as a place to enable visitors to safely begin their adventure on foot, remove bicycles from their vehicles, and to encourage those with wheelchairs or strollers to try out the trails.