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Resident urges better maintenance, shorter detours for Overland Park trails
Summary
At the city council meeting, Ward 2 resident Luke Desmond urged the council to prioritize maintenance of existing trails, citing closed detours, fallen trees, frequent potholes and persistent silt in underpasses and asking the city to force contractors to minimize closures and maintain access.
Luke Desmond, a Ward 2 resident, used the city’s open public comment period to press the Overland Park City Council to improve maintenance of the city’s existing trail network.
Desmond said he typically rides “70 to 100 miles per week” on regional trails and that “the 2 main trails in Overland Park are closed” that evening because of work near Highway 69. He said the Indian Creek detour “takes a rider over a mile” to reach the 119th overpass and that the contractor had closed the detour with no notice. He said an OP CARES report generated “acknowledgement that we know about it and we'll get to it in a few weeks” but that the ticket was closed with no action.
Desmond tied his concerns to the city’s planning documents. He noted the Overland Park Bicycle Master Plan’s recommendation that “bicycle access should be maintained when trails are closed” and told the council the current conditions do not align with that standard.
He described several maintenance problems on city trails: a large fallen tree partially blocking the path entering Corporate Woods Founders Park, frequent potholes, and underpass crossings “coated with a thick slimy layer of silt that takes a week or more to dry out after the most minor storms.” He said sweeping appears irregular and that “a week after a storm, there is nothing done.”
Desmond asked the council to focus on maintaining the existing trail system rather than expanding it: “I'm asking you not to expand the trail system. I'm asking you to maintain the existing trail system.” He also asked the council to “force contractors to minimize the amount of time that the trails are closed.”
The remarks occurred during the council’s open public comment period; no council action was taken during that item.
Desmond provided his address at the start of his remarks and spoke during the regular meeting’s public comment segment.
