KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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Grain Valley residents living south of the current Blue Branch Creek Trail will soon have pedestrian and bike access to the popular recreation area.
At Monday night's Board of Aldermen meeting, city officials approved a contractor, Inco USA, LLC, to extend the trail southward, connecting neighborhoods that currently require car access to reach the trailhead.
The Blue Branch Creek Trail currently runs west to SW Eagles Parkway. The approved extension will stretch the trail down South Buckner Tarsney Road to Sni-A Bar Boulevard and Nelson Drive.
"So that hooks it into the neighborhood there where we have a lot of people living so they'll be able to actually walk all the way from basically their homes to where we have a major trail at now," Mayor Michael Todd said.
The extension addresses a gap in pedestrian and bike infrastructure south of the library, where residents currently have no safe walking or cycling access to the trail system.
"I'm very excited about this as a bike rider and the connectivity it'll give that part of town is great," said James Myers, Alderman in Ward I.
Todd said the trail extension has been a priority for the city for some time, as it will provide critical connectivity for residents in southern neighborhoods. It was approved for the Transportation Alternatives Program grant back in 2021 but recently received the money for the project.
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