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The Meredith Trail is coming along!!
Thanks to Walter for taking the photos! This is what the trail was looking like on Sept 13th 2004.
Since then the trail has been asphalted. The shoulders should be graded shortly.
Send new pics if anyone has 'em!
More trail update pics
News from August 2, 2004
MEREDITH CORP. FOUNDATION PLANS $2 MILLION IN ENHANCEMENTS TO TRAIL LINKING GRAY'S LAKE WITH DOWNTOWN DES MOINES
Plans include Fleur connector; south-side loop; riverfront vistas; bridge improvements
DES MOINES, IA (August 2, 2004) - The Meredith Corporation Foundation, the charitable arm of Meredith Corporation, today announced plans to contribute $2 million to fund enhancements to the 2.5-mile recreational trail linking Gray's Lake Park with downtown Des Moines.
Known as the Meredith Trail, the 12-foot wide asphalt path would take advantage of riverfront vistas and include other user-friendly features to enhance the experience of the riverfront habitat. It is expected to open in phases in 2005. Plans call for:
- Architectural and aesthetic improvements to two existing bridges crossing the Raccoon River at Jackson Street and First Street. Benches will be placed at key locations along these bridges, which would be closed to motor vehicles.
- An additional half-mile trail connecting the Jackson and First Street bridges along the south side of the Raccoon River, thus creating a one-mile loop offering spectacular views of downtown Des Moines.
- A landscaped turn-out at a bend in the Raccoon River at 9th Street, offering a place to rest and a beautiful upstream view.
- A half-mile trail connection along the east side of Fleur Drive that will link Gray's Lake Park with the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, thus making Gray's Lake more easily accessible to the Gateway West corridor and the Sherman Hill district. This should be completed by the end of 2004.
- Improved lighting along the trail's entire length and multiple security telephones, similar to the services currently available at Gray's Lake.
Plans for a basic trail had already begun under the auspices of the City of Des Moines and the U.S. Department of Transportation, and approximately $1.3 million in public funds have been designated for the project. Meredith's grant is above and beyond those funds.
"The trail is being dedicated to Ted Meredith, who passed away in February 2003," said Mell Meredith Frazier, Chairman of the Meredith Corporation Foundation. "Our family is so pleased by the thoughtfulness of the Meredith Board of Directors and all Meredith employees. My father was excited about Gray's Lake, as well as the tremendous advances in the recreational trail network throughout the state. He especially supported initiatives to protect natural habitat and encouraged people to get out and experience and enjoy nature." Under the city's current plans, the trail would extend along the southern side of the Raccoon River from Gray's Lake to the Jackson Street Bridge. It would cross the bridge, run along the northern side of the Raccoon River around Sec Taylor Stadium to Market Street and join the planned Principal Riverwalk project at Court Avenue.
"We are delighted to present this gift to the citizens of Des Moines and the residents of Central Iowa in the honor of Ted Meredith, a man who cared deeply and gave generously to our community," said Meredith Corporation Chairman and CEO William T. Kerr, who also serves as President of the Meredith Corporation Foundation. "Our company relies on the ability to attract and retain the most talented and creative minds in the publishing business to Des Moines, and we see investment in the Meredith Trail as an important part of that strategy."
Ignacio Bunster-Ossa, the landscape architect at the Philadelphia-based firm of Wallace Roberts & Todd and the architect for the Principal Riverwalk, has been commissioned by Meredith to design the additional sections of the Meredith Trail.
"The Meredith Trail affords a unique experience of nature in the midst of the city," said Bunster-Ossa. "Whether at a bend on the Raccoon River, over a historic bridge or at the confluence of the Raccoon and Des Moines River, the enhancements seek to attract people to special places along the trail where the rivers' scenery can be fully absorbed and appreciated. Consisting of lighting, benches, native plantings, drinking fountains and the transformation of the First Avenue Bridge into a pedestrian plaza, the enhancements will provide needed amenity and security to this vital link in the region's system of trails. It also provides a pleasing transition from the Principal Riverwalk to Gray's Lake."
Gray's Lake has become one of the most popular parks in Greater Des Moines. As urban renewal projects, including construction of the Greater Des Moines Public Library, the Science Center of Iowa and the Iowa Events Center, have begun, city leaders have searched for a way to join the park with downtown Des Moines.
The planned Meredith Trail investment is the latest in a series of significant gifts Meredith Corporation and the Meredith Family have made to cultural, recreational and educational initiatives in Des Moines including Gray's Lake Park; the new Science Center of Iowa; the new downtown Des Moines Public Library; the new Pappajohn Higher Education Center; the Des Moines Arts Center and Arts Festival; the Des Moines Symphony; the Civic Center of Des Moines; Hoyt Sherman Place; and Drake University, to name just a few. Additionally, the Meredith Corporation Foundation matches more than $500,000 annually in gifts and volunteer hours contributed by Meredith employees and retirees both in Des Moines and nationwide.
Meredith Corporation (www.meredith.com) is one of the nation's leading media and marketing companies with businesses centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media. Together, Meredith media properties reach more than 75 million Americans each month.
The Meredith Publishing Group, the country's foremost home and family authority, includes 17 magazine brands, including Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies' Home Journal, and approximately 150 special interest publications. Meredith has nearly 300 books in print and has established integrated marketing and custom publishing relationships with some of America's leading companies. Additionally, Meredith has an extensive Internet presence with 26 Web sites and strategic alliances with leading Internet destinations. The Meredith Broadcasting Group operates 12 television stations across the country -including properties in top 25 markets such as Atlanta, Phoenix, and Portland
Other article
Meredith to jazz up downtown trail
Source: http://www.meredith.com/default.sph/pr_user.class?FNC=ViewRelease__Aextemplate_html___976
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