How to Walk in CoMo: Stadium Boulevard
The MKT is harder to get to than it ought to be
The flagship trail of the Columbia MO trail system is the MKT trail. A rails to trails project that follows Hinkson and Perche creeks before rendezvousing with the much longer KT “Katy” Trail. Itself running 240 miles across most of the state. Today[1] I was doing nothing so very ambitious; I was simply trying to give myself a break from work, and walk to, and maybe a bit along the MKT.
It was late afternoon and damp when I headed out. Originally I set out in my hoodie only, but turned back upon locking the door to grab my bright blue ski jacket, fearing i might need the extra visibility
Walking from my apartment to the MKT is easy enough. I’ve done it many times. From downtown there are several places to access the MKT. The trail terminates at Flat Branch park, or is easily joined from Elm street, Stewart Way, the connector off of Clarkson Rd, or that strange area with the garden thing, that I guess is technically called University Village. Today, I didn’t want to use any of these. The MKT is a one way trail out of Columbia, you can only go southwest from town. I didn’t want to begin my walk by going northwest, away from my final direction of travel.
There is another way to go. I can go to to the Hinkson Creek Trail, and connect to the MKT trail further down. The Hinkson Creek Trail is accessible either by cutting through the Mizzou parking lot, and scrambling down a partially unmapped path or walking past the stadiums and joining the trail near the ropes course. However as lovely as the Hinkson Creek Trail is, it wasn’t exactly I was in the mood for, and it can be a little meandery if all the pedestrian wants is to connect with the MKT.
What I wanted to do was to walk, in roughly a straight line, to the MKT. This should not be difficult. There is a road that runs roughly from my apartment directly to the MKT. The problem is that road is Stadium boulevard. A four lane, sidewalk free, road that is hardly appropriate for a pleasant afternoon stroll. Between University and Providence it isn’t even that bad. Its easy to cut through the well sidewalked hospital zone before using the tunnel to cross under stadium boulevard. (Or alternatively using the path on the south side of Stadium by the softball field and the Hearnes Center).
This was the plan on this gray afternoon. I would cut through the hospitals, cross under Stadium using the tunnel, and then use the pedestrian bridge to cross Providence. From there I was hoping to cut through the mess of stadiums, fields, and parking lots, southwest of Stadium and Providence that I always think of as the “SEC industrial complex”, over to the golf course and from there it would be just a bit down the Stadium Road shoulder (facing traffic, which is best practice) to the MKT.
It didn’t work. The SEC industrial complex stopped me. A combination of fences, a road closed for some construction, and my aversion to trespassing. (I never know where I am allowed to be in this mess of stadiums and fields) caused me to detour passed those suspiciously unwelcoming agricultural research buildings over to the Hinkson Creek trail.
While this would totally change my intended walk. I figured I could circle back and see if it was any easier to get from the MKT/Stadium intersection to Stadium and Providence, from the other direction.
So I took the Hinkson Creek trail, picked my way through the muddy sections, wishing I had worn my hiking boots, and noticed that the only other people on this trail on this damp afternoon were a group of runners (I admit to being slightly jealous of their speed).
I looped around, and left the MKT at Stadium, this time heading north back towards the golf course. Walking along Stadium wasn’t too bad, actually. There is a significant shoulder there. (it is technically a bike lane with sharrows and everything, though I’ve never seen a cyclist actually use it). Still, I was glad to leave it at the it at the golf course. My attempt to cross the SECIC fared little better this time around. I ended up skirting the grass between Stadium road and the athletic fields. Not the end of the world by any stretch, but not the quick, pleasant route I had hoped to find.
A few notes. First of all, of course it is entirely possible to simply walk down Stadium. People do it on the way to football games. However if one is after a relaxing stroll, it is clearly not the place to be. It also does seem like a genuinely risky activity, especially on a damp evening as dark is falling. Secondly, there still might be a better way to get through the section of athletic areas, tracks and etc. Especially if there wasn’t construction blocking what I think is Carrie Franke Drive.
My afternoon does point out a few things about walking in America that are worth noting. The first is how even excellent and well-resourced trails could be much better connected to the surrounding city. There is no good reason for there to be no connections to the east side of the MKT trail between the Hinkson Creek trail, and the connection off of Clarkson road. That’s a mile in the middle of the city, where there no realistic way to walk to the best trail in the city. It shows a real commitment to trail users driving to the use the trail. Stadium boulevard should have sidewalks. I suspect that the reason it doesn’t has something to do with the fact that it’s a state highway, or some similar categorical nonsense. Lastly, we should simply be able to walk through all golf courses. They are too large, and too green, for this not to be allowed. I’ll even promise to give the golfers a golf clap, and not hold them responsible for hitting me with a drive.
One of the things I don’t want to do with this blog is to turn into one of those bitter cyclists who always seem to be angry about their chosen mode of transportation. One of the things I believe is that America is unlikely to get more friendly to walking, without more people walking. And that even when the environment makes it imperfect, walking is still worth doing.
Walking is lovely, and this afternoon’s walk was lovely. I returned home much happier, and slightly muddier, than when I set out. There is a real joy in exploring and trying to figure out clever ways to connect bits of your city. Sometimes though it would be nice to simply be able to walk where you want to go.
[1] A term I use loosely.