River Shows Us Where We’ve
Been And Where We’re Going
Nothing helps define the City of St. Charles better than the Missouri River. It gives us a sense of place, of history and beautiful backdrop for buildings, public space, the arts and recreation. It’s what separates us from so many other communities whose only front door ends up being eight lanes of concrete highway. Rivers are valuable assets, which make cities more livable for residents and more memorable for visitors.
The Missouri River connects us with our environment, with nature and with something greater than ourselves. Its tree-lined shores are both a haven for wildlife and oasis for the spirit. Walk along its banks or simply sit and watch the river roll by. You’ll be surprised how the waters seem to carry away the stress of modern life.
Sometimes little changes can make a big difference. For years merchants on North Main Street have wanted to thin out the brush along the river to open up their scenic view of the river. What stood in the way was fear of Federal regulations.
It seems that some of the cottonwood trees along our riverfront may be home to Indiana bats. Why they are here and not in Indiana I don’t know, but their preference for Missouri over Indiana must be a terrible embarrassment to the Hoosier State. Let’s suffice it to say their dwindling numbers have gained them some sort of protected status.
Meanwhile, I had been regularly passing along to the City Administrator complaints of beer bottles and other trash along this section of the KATY Trail. To his credit, City Administrator Allan Williams, without fanfare or much expense, had street crews clear out underbrush during the time of year the Indiana bat apparently isn’t nesting or in the mood. The larger trees are still there for the bats to frolic in, but the underbrush has opened up another three blocks of scenic river for all to enjoy.
Since this clean up, there have been many more people using this section of the trail and stopping to view the river. Riverside Drive has become an even more scenic place to be and area merchants are positively giddy about the impact this small but important improvement has had.
Our earliest French inhabitants must have also appreciated the scenic beauty of the river from these “little hills” on which they settled. The river was their front door and the route to riches from the fur trade. Our relationship with the river has not always been so idyllic.
Later generations would turn their backs on the river as factories, warehouses and junk accumulated along its shores. It took the vision of the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, merchants and City officials to clear away the blight and reintroduce St. Charles citizens to their river heritage.
As a High School Senior I went with friends to sandbag in West Alton during the Flood of ‘73 (you know, way back in the 20th Century). That was the first five-hundred year flood I experienced before another five-hundred year flood hit us in ‘93. That would make me about 530 years old the way the Army Corps of Engineers reckons things.
Back then, the prevailing mindset seemed to be that rivers had to be tamed to protect lives and property. Since then attitudes have changed. After the 1993 flood, the vast majority of families who were routinely flooded out, were bought out and relocated with FEMA grant money. The Missouri River is no longer used for commercial navigation like the Mississippi. With high demand for water in the Western States, river levels will probably be lower in the long term. We have an opportunity to establish a different relationship with the river.
St. Charles can be proud of having done so much more with its riverfront than many other communities. In Hannibal and Cape Girardeau, for example, the downtown is cut off from the river by concrete flood walls. In Jefferson City, rail lines and sidings block access to most of the riverfront. Our mile long Frontier Park, adjacent KATY Trail and Depot, Lewis & Clark Boathouse, statue, Blanchette’s Landing in Frenchtown, the Foundry Art Center and historic downtown are the envy of other river towns.
Soon to be added to that mix is the new Veterans Memorial at Bishop’s Landing and an Eco-Park. The Riverfront Development Committee, which I serve on, was given a sneak peak of plans about to be bid out by the St. Charles Parks & Recreation Department for the new Eco-Park. From Blanchette’s Landing in Frenchtown (at the foot of Olive Street off Second) to the northernmost city limits, sand and rock trails, bridges and river overlooks will be built on the river side of the levy. The Eco-Park will help teach current and future generations of students about the wetlands and it’s wildlife.
Even more exciting are plans for additional riverfront amenities, anticipated to be built in the next five years, but still on the drawing board. These include a riverfront plaza, additional river overlooks, a restaurant on the river and new wayfaring signage. The plaza would provide a stepped area of stone blocks to allow people easier access to the river. Frenchtown merchants are eager to see another river overlook at the foot of Randolph Street and some condominium projects are being planned specifically to take advantage of views of the river.
While these projects are just around the bend, long range plans would expand the riverfront parks system south towards the Page Avenue Bridge. Public trail systems will one day give easy access to Howell Island. One of the most ambitious plans I’ve seen floated, would create a canal on the land side of the island for water taxis and to shelter pleasure boats. With decreased water levels, the current on the Missouri may decrease enough to make pleasure boating safer and more attractive. On the Northern city limits, ninety-eight acres of FEMA flood buyout property may be the start of a living history farm.
We may have one of the best riverfronts of any community in the State already, but we aren’t taking that for granted. With enthusiastic local officials and broad based citizen support, we’ll keep things “rollin on the river” for generations to come. Just in case any Federal agencies get a copy of this, let me just add that…no Indiana bats were harmed in the writing of this column.
