OTTAWA — Plans are under way to add bike lines to Walnut Street in Ottawa to mark the Prairie Spirit Trail. The trail, which follows an abandoned Santa Fe railroad right-of-way, is interrupted between First and Fifth streets along Walnut. The plan, as proposed by a development group, calls for two bike lanes – one in each direction — to be marked in the center of the street, similar to how the rail track originally existed. The proposal will be presented to the Ottawa City Commission for approval at an upcoming meeting. Once supplies are ordered and the work is scheduled, the bike lanes will take about a week to install, city manager Richard Nienstedt said. The 51-mile trail runs between Ottawa amd Iola and is the first converted rail to trail in Kansas. It’s now a state park.
Monday, Sept. 28, 4 p.m.
