Connectivity the goal of city’s trail work

UnGap the Map is an initiative. It’s a grant project. And it’s unfolding as a new way of living in Springfield.

Officials with both the city and Ozark Greenways Inc. have told Springfield Business Journal that progress is happening on expanding the city’s trail system, and only part of the progress is due to a $24.8 million no-match federal grant the city received in June 2024.

UnGap the Map was the title of a successful application for a RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Short for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, that grant program was rebranded to its pre-COVID-era moniker, Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, earlier this year.

The federal grant provides funding to add just over 3 miles of dedicated trail while eliminating at-grade crossings, installing four pedestrian bridges, removing abandoned culverts and installing traffic-calming, green infrastructure and accessible sidewalks and bike paths, according to Springfield Workforce & Economic Vitality Director Amanda Ohlensehlen.

Specifically, the grant aims to build missing connections between and among three key trails: the Jordan Creek Greenway, the Wilson’s Creek Greenway and the Trail of Tears Greenway.

But UnGap the Map is more than a grant project, according to Ben Tegeler, the executive director of Ozark Greenways and former senior planner with the city’s Department of Economic Vitality. Rather, it’s an initiative to create true connectivity within the city of Springfield.

“We have all sorts of diversity of trails and connections,” he said. “The community wants this and has spoken about it decade after decade. They want trails; they want opportunities to get up and about.”

They also want safe routes to work and to school, Tegeler said, and for trails to be an economic driver in Springfield.

“There’s excitement and momentum,” he said. “Trails are being thought about, not as an afterthought, but as a priority.”

Bigger than a grant
Ohlensehlen said the BUILD grant is filling three critical trail segments, an initiative identified in the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan, but the “UnGap the Map” moniker is not limited to the grant project.

“It’s a larger initiative that includes many other trail segments than just these three that have been identified,” she said.

She noted, too, that the project is not merely for the enjoyment of bikers, though that’s a plus.

“This goes far beyond recreational opportunities in our community – it really is about connectivity and having an active transportation network,” she said. “It’s a very important project as it relates to the ability of individuals to connect to employment and activity centers.”

The corridors can facilitate the movement of community members to a variety of destinations, Ohlensehlen said.

“It’s very important through the lens of economic vitality and quality of place,” she said. “Having an active transportation network and having different mobility options speaks to the vibrancy of our community.”

The trail system can help members of the workforce get where they want to go while opening up more employment options and elevating their quality of life, Ohlensehlen said.

“It helps businesses have access to a strong employment base, and it’s important to our economy to have that connectivity,” she said.

When the 3 miles provided by the BUILD grant are added, the project will result in 26 miles of contiguous trail, Ohlensehlen said, noting the longest continuous trail, the South Creek Trail, is only 6 miles now.

The addition will provide an exponential benefit to an area that is disjointed while also providing improved safety at intersections with streets, Ohlensehlen added. Additionally, the plan opens up more meaningful access to multiple types of transit options for community members, she said.

The addition of multimodal transportation access does not stop at the federal grant.

“Public Works continues its ‘complete streets’ policy and adds multimodal infrastructure alongside its roadway improvement projects wherever feasible,” said city spokesperson Kristen Milam in an email.

Milam noted new multiuse paths are soon to open as part of the Galloway widening and Grant Avenue Parkway projects, and several multimodal paths are in the works. Among these are a connection of the South Creek Greenway along Sunset Street from National Avenue to Glenstone Avenue, a trail connecting the Jordan Creek Greenway through Smith Park that was slated to begin in September and a portion of multimodal trail to be built alongside the LeCompte Road improvement project.

Tegeler said all together, the improvements will contribute to complete and walkable neighborhoods and expanded amenities, all priorities of Forward SGF.

“These are very exciting times – a lot is happening,” he said, adding – in a surprising metaphor for a trail guy – “We’ve finally got our foot on the gas and we’re not letting off.”

Employee perk
Mary Kromrey, a predecessor of Tegeler in the role of Ozark Greenways executive director, is now wearing a different hat: She is Springfield office manager of Own Inc., a Springfield-based engineering firm.

Kromrey said she always wanted to work in an office abutting the trail system – and now, at Own, she gets to. And Kromrey is not alone in desiring access to trails; as Ohlensehlen noted, numerous workplaces are located along the trail system.

A 2024 study published in the scholarly journal Frontiers in Psychology found people who work in areas with natural amenities spend more time outdoors, which corresponds to more engagement and creativity in the office. This has implications for organizational effectiveness, the researchers found.

Own offices are positioned at what could be considered ground zero for UnGap the Map: the point where South Creek and Wilson’s Creek Greenway trails come together. Funding is in place, Kromrey said, and a half-mile stretch of trail connecting the two will soon be constructed not far from the vantage point of her desk.

“I love looking out my office window and seeing the trailhead every day that I’m at work,” she said.

While Kromey’s relationship with Ozark Greenways goes back quite a while, she noted, Own officials past and present have racked up several decades of involvement. Jared Davis, an Own engineer who is leader of the company’s land development division, is currently serving on Ozark Greenways’ board of directors.

Kromrey said when Own was looking for land for its Springfield office – one of nine locations for the company – it couldn’t pass up a site with access to a regional trail system.

“Now that I’m here, of course I’m thrilled,” Kromrey said.

Recent office talk had Own staffers looking forward to the day when the gap is filled, Kromrey said. Then, some noted, they’ll be able to easily walk or bike to work.

Meanwhile, the trail is an amenity for Own staff, providing benefits of physical activity and mental clarity, according to Kromrey.

“Every day when I look out my window, folks are going outside to take a break,” she said. “If they want to get a five-mile run in, they can; if they want to go for a bicycle ride, they can.”

A 10- or 15-minute walk is an easy way to stretch your legs and give yourself a brain break, Kromrey said, adding that some meetings for the company take the form of walk-and-talks, with associates hashing out plans on the trail.

Daniel Shannon, a project manager with Own, greets a certain colleague on the trail three to five times a week. Riprap is a northern watersnake who hangs out on a pile of – what else? – riprap, the term for large stones used as stabilizer and erosion protector.

Shannon said he would often see snakes on his walks, but he soon realized one snake was making a repeat appearance.

“I gave him a civil engineering name,” he said.

Shannon agreed with Kromrey that the trails offer a good opportunity to get away from the work station and out of the office.

“I used to feel that manual labor was going to kill me,” he said. “After getting a desk job, I realized that was going to cut my life a lot shorter than if I was swinging a hammer every day.”

Shannon said he sees the trail system as a gift to those throughout the community who use it.

“It’s an investment in people,” he said.