In the 1980s, a 600-foot-long section of recreational trail
was built along the Mississippi River behind what was then the
Iowa-American Water Co. It didn’t go anywhere — just started and
stopped.
But the path was the beginning of what some people
envisioned as a longer trail that would one day stretch for miles along
the river and — with bike/pedestrian bridge connections — could link the
entire Quad-Cities in various loops.
On Monday, city and
community leaders gathered for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at the new,
$1.94 million bicycle, pedestrian bridge connecting Davenport’s Credit
Island with trails in various directions.
And they reflected on how far the community has come in terms of bike-friendliness.
Greg
Albansoder, a former project manager for the city of Davenport who
shepherded the bridge project for nearly 15 years, recalled how that
first bit of riverfront trail was called “really stupid.”
The
bridge project encountered various bumps along the way, including
opposition from people concerned about the cost and the possibility that
it would be a magnet for illegal activity on the island. Initial cost
estimates came in over budget and the project had to be re-engineered.
But
since the concrete-and-steel span with bright red rails unofficially
opened in September, use has increased to an average of 250 people per
day and “it’s growing,” said Dean Mathias of the Quad-Cities Bicycle
Club.
Wearing his riding attire and helmet, Mathias was charged up
and ready to lead some 15 fellow bicyclists on a 30-mile loop starting
from the bridge.
“Cyclists and runners love loops!” he said, leading the crowd in a cheer of “Hip, hip, hooray.”
The
loop he referred to goes from the bridge northwest to Sunderbruch Park
(via Concord Street, U.S. 61, Fairmount Street and John Fell Drive),
then to Emeis Park (via West Locust Street) and onto the Duck Creek
Recreational Trail to Devils Glen Park in Bettendorf, connecting to
Riverdale, then back along the Mississippi Riverfront Trail to Credit
Island.
“That’s just to show you that this trail does lead to someplace,” Mathias told the crowd.
The
bridge offers other connecting possibilities as well. One can go west
to Buffalo, where the city council is expected next month to consider a
proposal for an engineering study that would build a trail all the way
to Wild Cat Den State Park in Muscatine.
And there are plans to
expand the riverfront trail north to Princeton, said Kathy Wine, the
director of River Action Inc., which is based in Davenport.
The
bridge also will be used by people riding the national American
Discovery Trail (San Francisco to New York City) and the Mississippi
River Trail (Minneapolis to New Orleans), both of which intersect in
Davenport.
Wine praised the bridge for its beauty and uniqueness,
happy that those responsible “kept in mind that design is important as
well as the function.”
Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba noted that the
bridge is “a major development for the often-neglected west end of
Davenport” and that it provided construction jobs “at a time when jobs
were scarce.”
Of the total cost, 80 percent came from federal
grant funds and 20 percent came from the city’s capital improvement
project budget, he said.
BY THE NUMBERS
The new bicycle/pedestrian bridge is:
- 800 feet long
- 1.2 miles west of the Credit Island causeway
- 25 feet above the water in the harbor when the water is at 7 feet, about 5 feet higher than what is typical.
WANT TO RIDE?
A map showing how the Duck
Creek and Mississippi riverfront trails connect is available from the
Davenport Parks and Recreation Department, 700 W. River Drive.
For information, call 563-328-7275 or go to cityofdavenportiowa.com/parks.