The City of Columbia is asking for your input on the Colt Railroad, specifically on a proposal to “railbank” a 2.5-mile section of track from Rogers St. to East Brown Station Rd.
Simply put, railbanking is a way to preserve an unused portion of track for a future use, rather than splitting up the pieces of land and selling them off.
That will depend on future planning sessions but it could be anything from reinstating an active railroad to a rails-to-trails project. Railbanking is just the first step in this process—and a necessary first step before additional planning and input.
Spoiler alert, we’d love to see a new rails-to-trails project connecting downtown to the Business Loop! And with some of the changes MODOT is proposing to this section of the corridor, we think a new trail connection will fit right in.
So we’ll be adding our support to railbanking this unused section of the Colt and keeping an eye on future opportunities to make our street more accessible to bikers and walkers.
When are the public input meetings?
Two open house-style meetings are planned at City Hall, 701 E. Broadway, in Conference Rooms 1A-1B. The public will have the opportunity to learn more and offer feedback at one of these meetings:
Thursday, Feb. 12, noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
