Alton Residents Urge City Officials To Keep State Street Trails Non-Commercial
Residents oppose commercial rezoning of bike trails in their neighborhood; property owner seeks solutions amid shutdown.
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ALTON – Alton residents living near the State Street Trails voiced opposition to the property becoming a commercial development at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
Nicholas Goewey, who has reportedly been working on the trails for the past 19 years and secured city approval to operate them years ago, wrote in a June 2025 post on the State Street Trails Instagram page that the property was being targeted by a “troubling neighbor” who was allegedly getting other residents to complain to city officials about the trails.
Goewey said he was told by the Alton Police Department at the time that if enough neighbors complained to the city’s Building and Zoning Department, the trails may be shut down entirely. A follow-up post on Aug. 22, 2025 confirmed the trails would likely be shut down because they “are not zoned properly.”
Keeley Bogart, who lives in the nearby Norside neighborhood, thanked city officials at Wednesday’s meeting for taking steps to shut down the State Street Trails.
“I previously addressed the council regarding concerns about the State Street Trails project,” Bogart said. “I appreciate that the city has taken action to shut down the project. This is an important first step in protecting the safety and integrity of our neighborhood.”
Given the area’s existing R-1 residential zoning classification, Bogart said the operation of the trails posed “significant safety risks” and brought increased traffic and noise, which “disrupted the peaceful character of our neighborhood and our community.”
“I urge the council to take steps to ensure this closure is permanent,” Bogart added. “This could include removing any remaining structures, signage, or equipment and enforcing measures to prevent unauthorized access in the future. Ensuring permanent compliance protects both residents and the city from reoccurring safety and zoning issues.”
She further encouraged council members to look into developing other recreational areas that “comply with zoning regulations, meet community needs, and keep our residential areas safe and undisturbed.”
Patrick Loftus, another neighborhood resident, said he strongly opposes allowing this property to be used for commercial purposes. He said the property was largely abandoned by its previous owners before “groups of kids in the neighborhood went in and built this system of bicycle trails.”
“It’s come to my attention that the guy who currently owns it has the intention of running it as a commercial property,” Loftus said. “We’ve complained in the past about noise, loud music, events being held there without proper facilities, fires burning unattended, camping on the property [and] fireworks being fired off.”
Lofus said the idea of using the area, which currently lacks any buildings or utilities like running water, as a commercial property is “ludicrous.” He also said the trails are “land-locked,” or completely surrounded by other properties with no direct access to the road. The property’s only access reportedly runs across a city-owned lot, which Loftus claimed raises potential liability concerns for the city and nearby property owners.
In the post from Aug. 22, Goewey expressed a willingness to work with city officials on a possible solution to keep the trails open.
“I'm going to try and speak with the mayor about everything and if things still don't go well we will probably have to close the trails to the public,” Goewey wrote. “18 years I've been fighting for this place and until it's ripped from my hand I will continue to do anything I can to get these trails opened back up.”
A full recording of the Aug. 27, 2025 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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