PEORIA HEIGHTS -- From the news release:
There will be a trash clean-up along the Kellar Rail in Peoria Heights on Saturday, May 16, from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm, sponsored by the volunteer group Recreational Trail Advocates, (RTA).
Registration will be at the Peoria Heights Library, 816 East Glen Avenue. Gloves, trash bags and water will be provided. Volunteers will be asked to fill out a liability waiver.
The event will proceed rain or shine. Long pants, sturdy shoes and long sleeves shirts are recommended.
Lunch will be provided at 12:00 pm at the TNT Sports Bar and Grill, formerly known as the Penguin Tap, on Prospect Street in Peoria Heights. Mayor Allen has been invited to speak at the lunch to provide an update on efforts to convert the nearly abandoned railroad tracks into a recreation trail.
The railroad tracks are controlled by the Federal Surface Transportation Board, in Washington DC, which must approve the removal of the tracks to put in a trail.
There are approximately 9 miles of Kellar railroad stretching from Pioneer Park in North Peoria to the downtown Riverfront. There is only one customer who has received occasional railroad freight for the past five years.
In 2007 the STB ruled that the railroad companies should be given additional time to develop new rail business before the tracks could be replaced with asphalt for public use. No new business has occurred.
The Peoria Park District has several million dollars in state, federal and private funds committed to the recreational trail conversion. Both property owners, the City of Peoria and Village of Peoria Heights, have passed resolutions in support of the recreational trail.
US Senator Durbin, Represenative Schock and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have expressed their support for the Kellar recreational trail conversion.
For more information please contact RTA president George Burrier at 266-5085, or visit the website www.ritrail.org.
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