Shawnee County adopts Trails & Greenways Master Plan to guide future network and connections

On Feb. 5, 2026, the Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners acknowledged and adopted a Trails & Greenways Master Plan developed by WSP USA in partnership with Shawnee County Parks & Recreation.

The plan, presented by Tim Lorenz of Parks & Recreation and consultants Andy Frye and Steve Rhodes of WSP, compiles roughly a year of outreach and analysis. Frye said the effort combined county funding with grant support from Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Pathways to a Healthy Kansas program and aimed to ensure proposed trails serve residents across income levels and geographies. "We were kind of all over the place," Frye said of outreach to towns, advisory boards and community events.

Why it matters: county staff and consultants described the document as a roadmap for coordinated trail development, not a mandate to build immediately. The plan identifies short‑ and long‑term segments, assigns priority values, and recommends both urban and rural trail types — from paved multiuse paths to soft‑surface hiking and mountain‑bike routes and water‑trail amenities along the Kansas River — to improve connectivity across Shawnee County and link to regional systems.

Consultants described their approach and deliverables. Steve Rhodes summarized the planning framework, saying the plan defines short‑term and long‑term segments and provides graphics to guide implementation. The consultants said they will deliver final documents and the underlying GIS files so Parks & Recreation — and the public, if posted online — can use the layers for future design and permitting.

Commissioners pressed for implementation details. They asked how connectors to small towns such as Silver Lake and Rossville would be routed; Frye and Rhodes said multiple options were identified, including river levees, gravel roads and rights‑of‑way adjacent to existing infrastructure. Commissioners asked about acquiring rights‑of‑way, siting of trailheads, whether e‑bikes would be allowed and minimum buffer widths; WSP said they validated field conditions and considered maintenance costs using national comparisons but did not finalize regulatory minutiae such as exact buffer distances.

Rossville resident Myron Linewinner, who said he helped lead Rossville’s trail work, praised the outreach and economic benefits of trails, calling them "a really important economic lifeline" for small communities and noting Rossville’s three‑phase local project, two phases of which are complete.

The board then moved to formally acknowledge and adopt the plan. Commissioner Rippon moved for adoption; Commissioner Cook seconded. The motion carried on a recorded voice vote of 2–0. Commissioners and staff emphasized that adoption provides a planning framework and that individual projects will be advanced as funding and agreements permit.

Next steps: Parks & Recreation staff will receive the final plan and GIS files and said they will post materials for public use and incorporate the layers into future planning. Funding, right‑of‑way acquisition and maintenance responsibilities will be determined on a project‑by‑project basis.