City moves forward on Munn Ave. trail project

No serious objections to a Munn Avenue leg of the city's growing trail network were raised during a public meeting on the issue Friday evening at City Hall.

In fact, only a handful of residents showed up for the session, during which civil engineer Randy Mendenhall of Snyder & Associates summarized the project, now on track for construction late this summer.

The six-foot-wide trail will stretch 2,000 linear feet south along the west side of the street from Victory Lane to South Avenue, where it will eventually connect to pedestrian improvements planned in conjunction with next year's reconstruction of Munn between South Avenue and Highway V.

Most of the $140,000 construction cost will come from a Transportation Enhancement grant through the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The trail was originally to be built a few blocks to the east along Walnut, but the project was relocated following objections from neighborhood residents and the emergence of the $2 million Munn Avenue project.

City Manager Greg McDanel said Friday that moving the project made sense for a number of reasons. For one thing the street is already a popular route for runners, walkers and cyclists. For another, the trail, once the Munn project is finished, will greatly enhance pedestrian access to Maryville High School.

Eventually, McDanel said, the city hopes to extend the Munn Street trail north as far as Northwest Missouri State University, where it would ultimately connect to a north- and east-side trail network also planned for construction next year.

Another possibility, still just in the talking stages, would consist of extending the trail east along Route V until it hooks up with an existing hiking/biking path running north from Maryville Middle School.

Like other parts of the trail system, the Munn Route is to be constructed on public rights-of-way. Unlike other paths, however, it will impact relatively few homeowners with regard to driveway modifications and tree removals.

Still, a number of trees will have to be cut down to make way for construction, Mendenhall said, and one fire hydrant will have to be relocated. As with similar projects, the city has pledged to work with landowners to plant new trees if the resident so desires.

Beyond South Avenue, the trail, from a funding standpoint, will be considered part of the Munn Avenue reconstruction. Plans call for the path to remain on the west side of the street until in reaches the high school, where pedestrians will cross over via a controlled pedestrian crosswalk.

The trail is to end a few yards north of Route V, but painted bicycles lanes will continue on to the intersection.

Such lanes currently exist along Munn and will remain after trail construction is complete, McDanel said.