West Des Moines Finishing Raccoon River Crossing

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By this time next year, cyclists should have a way to safely cross the Raccoon River on the eastern edge of West Des Moines. It’s one of two big trail projects happening this year in the city.

Raccoon River Crossing

Highway 28 – known as 1^st St. in West Des Moines and 63^rd St. in Des Moines – is the road that serves as the border between the two cities. But it will soon foster a key trail connection, making it safer and easier for cyclists to get around the western metro.

The trail to carry cyclists from one side of the Raccoon River to the other is incomplete right now, but West Des Moines is currently designing a short connection to fill the gap.

Here’s the route of the new trail, starting from the north:

• It begins at the existing Levee Trail at Lincoln St. and 1^st /63^rd St.

• The trail continues south for a quarter of a mile and hooks up to a sidewalk trail at the bridge over the river.

• Once across the river, the trail goes on for about a block until it reaches the controlled intersection at Creston Ave.

• The trail crosses 1^st /63^rd into Des Moines, where it continues south along the east side of the road.

Cyclists can continue southbound on the trail along 1^st /63^rd , past Paws & Pints, down to McKinley Ave./Veterans Pkwy. A trail alongside Veterans Pkwy. eventually hooks up with the Great Western Trail.

West Des Moines park superintendent Marco Alvarez said that connection to the Great Western Trail is just one example of expanded opportunities, thanks to this new crossing.

“There aren’t any pedestrian accommodations right now on either side of Hwy. 28. Being able to have these will be key and I’m sure, make a lot of bicyclists and pedestrians happy,” Alvarez said.

He hopes construction can begin by late fall of this year, allowing the trail to open by the end of 2025 or in early 2026.

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Sugar Creek Greenway Trail

Progress is also expected later this year on the Sugar Creek Greenway Trail. It follows (you guessed it) Sugar Creek, near Grand Prairie Pkwy. on the far western edge of West Des Moines.

Phase two of the trail, between Stagecoach Dr. and Mills Civic Pkwy, is on the agenda. Crews are already busy in the area, stabilizing the banks of Sugar Creek. Once that work is done, trail construction will begin, likely in late fall.

Phase one was finished in 2021, and is only a little more than half a mile long. Once complete, the Sugar Creek Greenway Trail will stretch for about four miles from the Raccoon River up to around Interstate 80. It will also be part of a much longer route – the city’s Marathon Loop.

“Sugar Creek is a key part of that,” Alvarez said. “It will establish the western four miles of that loop.”

Alvarez said the 26.2-mile-long loop will be made up of existing and future trails. He said the loop is about halfway done, and there is no target date for completion.

“It’s kind of a big picture item. Timing will just depend on the land, when we can acquire the land and of course budgeting for construction,” Alvarez said.

It’s a similar outlook for Sugar Creek. There is no estimate for when the trail could be finished, since land still needs to be purchased. Once it is built, the Sugar Creek Greenway Trail will join about 80 miles worth of trails in West Des Moines.

An Exciting Time!

It’s been a really good week or so for DSM Bike Notes. We got a mention in Axios Des Moines last Friday, which led to an influx of new subscribers. I’m thrilled and slightly shocked to say that there are now more than 500 subscribers! Axios was also kind enough to share a link to my story about the expansion of BonduBikes in Bondurant! And that resulted in another bump of new subscribers! Thank you to Jason and Linh at Axios! If you’re a new subscriber, welcome to DSM Bike Notes and thank you for signing up! I love getting story ideas, so I’d love to hear yours.

Another exciting note — I have an advertiser! I have had such a good time writing this newsletter that I’ve kind of dragged my feet on trying to get advertisers signed on. Thank you to Firetrucker Brewery in Ankeny for being my first paying advertiser. My partner and I enjoy tipping a couple back there while playing Scrabble, and now we have another reason to be big fans of Firetrucker! PS, there’s room for more advertisers. 🙂 

Have a great Thursday!