Greenways/ Trails Archives

Dardenne Greenway At BaratHaven Park

Dardenne Prairie, MO

BaratHaven Park, an 80-acre park and the first project for the Dardenne Greenway, features a 15-acre lake with three scenic overlooks. Envisioned to beautify the surrounding neighborhood, the park offers an accessible lake, trails, and other improvements. The three-mile BaratHaven loop winds through residential areas in the BaratHaven community in St. Charles County, forming part of the larger 80-acre park. The greenway circles a 15-acre lake, enriched with wetlands to support native wildlife and plant habitats. To the east, the greenway extends into Bluebird Meadow Park, featuring a restored wetland and prairie landscape. This extension enables future connections to Busch Wildlife, protecting an oxbow and wetland while creating prairie acres.

Creating BaratHaven Park involved stabilizing and restoring scenic areas along Dardenne Creek and Old Dardenne Creek. Natural vegetation protects adjacent land, preserving the riparian corridor for wildlife and preventing soil erosion. New wetlands along the creeks further enrich habitats for native flora and fauna.

The Dardenne Greenway incorporates a sustainable plant palette with various native Missouri species. These plants are hardy, disease and insect resistant, and suitable for local soils. They provide privacy for nearby residential areas without hindering access, define special spaces, frame desirable views, offer shade along trails, and enhance wildlife habitats.

*Completed prior to establishing DG2

Centennial Greenway at 39 North Greenway

Olivette & Creve Coeur, MO

In 2019, Great Rivers Greenway team collaborated with the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership to engage stakeholders of the 39 North Agtech Innovation District (39 North) to create the 39N Greenway Plan. The plan refined the Centennial Greenway route through 39 North and identified new complementary greenway connections within the district. This project will extend the Centennial Greenway from Warson Park in Olivette, through 39 North, to the intersection of Lindbergh Blvd and Schuetz Rd in the City of Creve Coeur.

The project goals for the Centennial Greenway and the 39 North Greenway are:

– Extend the Centennial Greenway from Warson Park in the City of Olivette to the intersection of Lindbergh Blvd and Schuetz Rd in the City of Creve Coeur and unincorporated St. Louis County.

– Improve safety and comfort for people walking, running, bicycling, pushing a stroller, and using a wheelchair between Warson Park and the Lindbergh Blvd/ Schuetz Rd intersection and to the multiple activity centers within 39 North.

– Create safe greenway crossings at Olive Blvd, Warson Road, and Lindbergh Blvd.

The team is currently collaborating with Great Rivers Greenway to validate greenway routes within the project area and is working to develop a preliminary design for the greenway.

Gravois Greenway

DG2 Design led the landscape architecture and planning efforts for the expansion of the Gravois Greenway, a high-priority project for Great Rivers Greenway (GRG). This expansion extends Grant’s Trail from its previous endpoint at Orlando’s to the River des Peres Greenway, creating a critical connection across six densely populated municipalities and portions of unincorporated St. Louis County, from Kirkwood to the St. Louis City limits near River City Casino.

The landscape architecture approach focused on integrating the greenway with its natural surroundings, ensuring that native landscapes were incorporated throughout the corridor. This decision reduced long-term maintenance while providing essential ecosystem benefits such as shade, stormwater filtration, and habitat creation. The ten-mile Gravois Greenway now seamlessly connects with the eleven-mile River des Peres Greenway, forming a 21-mile paved pathway for walking, running, biking, and accessibility, linking parks, historic sites, and community amenities.

Key design features of the expansion include two bridges, a boardwalk through wetlands, a tunnel, and over 45,000 square feet of retaining walls, all of which required careful geotechnical considerations and water quality improvements. Extensive coordination with MoDOT was necessary to manage utility relocations, licensing, and approvals, as much of the alignment was within the MoDOT right-of-way.

Phased construction spanned several years, with the landscape architects beginning the planning process in 2012 and Phases 2 and 3 completing in 2020. These phases added neighborhood connections, a bridge across Bayless Avenue, an underpass under Weber Road, and new connections into the River des Peres Greenway. The newly completed Mysun Charitable Foundation Trailhead replaces the old southern trailhead, featuring amenities like restrooms, seating walls, a bike fix-it station, and native landscaping to manage stormwater and support wildlife.

This greenway expansion is more than just a recreational path; it links six towns, passes historic sites like Grant’s Farm, connects parks and community resources, and provides a sustainable, well-designed space for residents to enjoy for years to come.

AWARDS

2022 ASCE’s Engineering Excellence Award