Lee’s Summit residents love trails. Here’s how city plans to expand greenway system

Thanks to a growing greenway trail system, Lee’s Summit residents have the opportunity to spend time outdoors and participate in fitness activities via numerous park trails, shared-use paths and bike loops. Lee’s Summit Parks & Recreation is working to expand the trails through partnerships and a comprehensive long-range plan.

Greenways are defined as a system of trails located within a natural corridor as well as a widened trail system designed for walking, hiking and cycling, according to Lee’s Summit Parks & Recreation.

Within Lee’s Summit, greenways have been well received.

“In recent community feedback related to recreational amenities and parks, trails are consistently the highest ranked amenity Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation provides,” said Joe Snook, administrator of Lee’s Summit Parks & Recreation. “It is an amenity that allows for connectivity, provides health benefits and expands alternative modes of transportation to and from residential areas, shopping, schools, parks and other landmarks.”

Lee’s Summit’s greenway master plan was developed by Parks & Rec in 1998 with a goal of protecting open space while serving recreational trail users. A 38-mile loop is planned to include Lee’s Summit, Grandview, Kansas City and several rural areas with more than 100 miles of linked neighborhood connector routes also in the works within parks and along roadways and stream corridors.

Of the 38-mile loop, 16.3 miles are planned within Lee’s Summit, Snook said, with 6.2 miles of the Lee’s Summit trails currently complete. In addition to the trails included in the loop, the city also offers 16.7 miles of park trails, 39.3 miles of shared-use paths and 21.1 miles of bike loops as well as 15.4 miles of on-road bike routes that include signage.

A noteworthy addition to the network is the Rock Island Trail, which has been open for use since 2019, Snook said.

“With two phases now complete, the trail utilizes the abandoned railway bed of the Rock Island Union Pacific railroad,” he said. “Currently the trail runs from Jefferson Street in Lee’s Summit and travels north and west through Lee’s Summit and Raytown to the Truman Sports Complex for a total of approximately 15 miles.”

This popular trail is maintained and operated by Jackson County Parks and Recreation.

“Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation constructed a trailhead to serve the Rock Island Trail at Hartman Park and, at this time, is the only full-service trailhead on the trail,” Snook said.

Additional trails are in the works in several areas. Parks and Recreation staff members are working with private developers and consultants to create a park and trails master plan for the Mouse Creek corridor in southern Lee’s Summit.

“This will add approximately two miles of primary greenway loop trail and ultimately link to other major regional trails in the area,” he added.

Plans for Lower Banner Park include the addition of a trail and other park improvements.

Lee’s Summit is also home to a number of wider shared-use paths in the form of 10-foot-wide sidewalks, which are the result of ongoing coordination between two city departments.

“On a continual basis, Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation partners with Lee’s Summit Public Works to expand the trails system in coordination with road improvement projects that are identified on the trails master plan,” Snook said.

To learn more about the Lee’s Summit greenway trail system, visit the Parks & Recreation webpage. A downloadable trails map is also available on this site.