Home 
 News 
 Cliff Cave Trail Expansion Under Attack

News

Cliff Cave Trail Expansion Under Attack

An important expansion to Cliff Cave Park in south St. Louis County, years under development and with broad public support, is being stopped by one new St. Louis County Council member.

Trakas claims that emails on the subject are running 50-50 for and against the trail–and we need to change that in a BIG way if we want to save this important trail.  We need 10-to-1 in support–or better. Your help is vital.

Please take 2 minutes today to call & email Councilman Ernie Trakas “I support the Cliff Cave Park Trail – Please don’t slow or stop it.”

ETrakas@stlouisco.com – 314-615-5442 OR his assistant Carmen Wilkerson 314-615-0159 – cwilkerson@stlouisco.com

If you live in the STL County, please also cc: your own County Council member.

Contact info for all County Council members & full details about the situation below.

============================================================

CLIFF CAVE PARK UNDER THREAT – YOU CAN HELP

For several years, Great Rivers Greenway and St. Louis County Parks have been working on the Cliff Cave Park Trail, a key connector in the Mississippi Greenway.

The planned trail is beautiful and will connect people who walk and bicycle over several difficult obstacles to an amazing overlook and miles of riverfront trail.

Construction is set to start in March. But a new St. Louis County Council member is threatened to stop the trail altogether. He claims that messages are running 50/50 for/against the trail and we need to change that in a BIG way today.

Suggested message & STL County Council contact info is below – or visit our online Cliff Cave page.

SUGGESTED MESSAGECliff Cave Park Trail - planned overlook

  • Be polite and persuasive when you contact your elected officials–this is by far the most effective approach.
  • Use a brief, clear subject line such as “I strongly support the Cliff Cave Park Trail”

  • Clearly state that you strongly support the trail and strongly oppose his effort to slow or stop it.  You support it and support moving forward with it quickly. Unfortunately in this case, delay is equivalent to opposition. Trakas is trying spin his opposition as “just slowing down to take time to consider the options” but the problem is, the trail is been under study and consideration for many years with all sorts of public meetings involving thousands of people and public comments. With money already spent and preliminary construction underway, Trakas knows that delay will kill the project–which is what a very few, very persistent neighbors want.
  • A short message is as effective or more effective than a long one.
  • Include your connection to the County (live, work, visit, vacation, etc) , especially if you live work, or visit St. Louis County District 6, Ernie Trakas’s district in SE St. Louis County.
  • Include a sentence or two, or a quick story, showing why trails, bicycling, and walking are important to you personally, to your community, and/or to St. Louis County.

Your message is about Cliff Cave Park specifically, but is also a valuable opportunity to raise the profile and importance of trails, bicycling, and walking with the St. Louis County Council.

County Council members need to know that the County has many strong supporters of the bicycle, pedestrian, and trail system in the County.

We are working closely with our local partners, members, and affected agencies on this effort, including Trailnet, the regional St. Louis area advocacy group that works the create positive change in the St. Louis bi-state region by encouraging healthy, active living and that founded the region’s trail system in the 1990s.  Look for more information coming soon from both us and our local and regional partners on this important issue.

Contact Information for St. Louis County Council

If you live in the County, contact your own County Council representative and also cc: Mr. Trakas, who is the key decision-maker on this issue.

If you don’t live in the County or have a connection to a particular Council District, you might email Mr. Trakas and cc: Steven Stenger, St. Louis County Executive.

Phone calls are very helpful. And email message is also helpful, and both phone and email followup is best of all. A posted letter or fax is also very effective, simply because constuents more rarely take the time to send a ‘real’ letter and that makes each one more impactful.

Map of St. Louis County Council Districts.Cliff Cave Park

Thank you! It really does make a big difference when you take the time to contact your elected representatives.