FORT SCOTT — The city of Fort Scott has been awarded $1.45 million in federal funds for the first phase of a walking trail along Buck Run Creek and pedestrian safety improvements around Fort Scott High School. The money comes through the Kansas Department of Transportation's Transportation Alternatives program.
The award funds phase one of the Buck Run Corridor Transformation Project, drawn from a 2010 U.S. 69 corridor management plan. Rachel Carpenter, the city's community development director, said she focused her application on one of the plan's strategies, the Buck Run Greenway Trail.
"It's basically talking about how we can turn the highway into an asset for our community," Carpenter said of the plan.
The full trail it envisions would stretch from the riverfront to the hospital, Carpenter said. She narrowed her application to a segment alongside the creek between Sixth Street and 12th Street.
The stretch needs substantial cleanup first. Plans call for a 4-foot-wide concrete path, lighting, benches and a new 100-foot bridge.
"You'll be able to see part of the trail through the highway, but we're going to keep a lot of that greenery there too," Carpenter said.
The outdoor fitness court the city recently built will serve as a trailhead for the creekside route.
The grant also pays for work identified in the city's Safe Routes to School plan, published this year, which examined pedestrian and bicycle safety at all of the city's public schools.
"In this grant, we'll be able to complete 95% of the engineering suggestions to make it safer for students walking to high school," Carpenter said.
A new sidewalk will run along 12th Street from National Avenue to U.S. 69, and Scott Street, which runs past Buck Run, will also be made safer.
"Speed bumps, the flashing lights ... signage and crosswalks, things of that nature, just to make it safer for the students," Carpenter said.
Phase one additionally covers rehabilitation of one of three stone bridges along the corridor. Carpenter said the bridges predate the highway and once carried residents across to the other side of town.
"It's so overgrown right now you can't even see the bridge," Carpenter said. "But I saw it, it looks really cool, like it's in great shape."
"It's really cool, and apparently Gordon Parks has taken photos there," she said.
Interpretive features such as statues and historical signage could not be covered by the grant, though the corridor plan calls for them.
"Eventually I would like to go after an additional grant for those aspects, but right now just developing the trail will take a couple years," Carpenter said.
The award is a three-year grant. Carpenter said engineering work will take place in 2027, with construction expected to take about two years and the trail complete by 2030.
Gov. Laura Kelly and KDOT announced Aug. 17 that $37.2 million had been awarded to 33 projects statewide. The grant requires a 20% local match. Carpenter said the city's share will be smaller than originally projected because Fort Scott was not awarded the full amount it sought.
Commissioners authorized Carpenter to pursue the grant earlier this year, after the city's letter of intent was accepted. They must now formally accept the award, which she expects to bring back to them within the next month.
This story came from a sit-down interview with the city's community development director. Reporting like this takes time, and reader support is what pays for it.
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