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ALTON – Alton City Council members voted 5-1 on Tuesday to stop the owners of the State Street Trails from using their property as a BMX facility after three decades of the trails reportedly operating without issue.
Two related resolutions appeared on this week’s City Council agenda: one to consider adding “BMX Riding Trail” as a Special Use within R-1 Single-Family Residential zoning districts, and another to consider a Special Use Permit for a BMX Riding Trail at 2100 Lincoln St., locally known as the State Street Trails.
At Tuesday’s meeting, several residents from the neighborhood and beyond spoke in support and opposition of the zoning changes, which would have allowed the land to continue serving as BMX riding trails within a residential neighborhood. Supporters urged city officials to allow the trails’ current ownership to continue operating them as they have for decades, while some neighbors voiced concerns about safety, legal precedents, and consistent zoning enforcement.
The city’s Plan Commission recommended a negative vote for both resolutions, but property co-owner Aaron Lockhart said none of the supportive emails or petitions from supporters of the trails were included for commission members to review. Considering the one-sided information their recommendation was based on, Lockhart said the trails had been “set up to fail.”
Lockhart also clarified a series of misleading statements that have been made about the State Street Trails. Despite repeated claims from some neighbors, he said the trails do not operate as a commercial business and never have. He added the trails are technically only open by invitation to family and friends, and several visitors have been turned away from the property as the issue’s repeated presence in City Council meetings has continuously fueled media attention surrounding the trails.
Property co-owner Nicholas Goewey said the city only began targeting the site with strict zoning enforcement in recent years after he became co-owner of the property. Prior to Goewey owning the land, he said friends and family were allowed to use the trails with permission from not only the previous property owner, but also city officials under former mayor Brant Walker and the first term of current Mayor David Goins.
Goewey pointed out that Goins had previously been a visible supporter of the State Street Trails, reportedly calling them “a great thing in Alton” and posting a series of photos from the site which remain on the mayor’s Facebook page. Goins later joined four City Council members in voting to shut the trails down.
“For almost 30 years, we never had a single issue in the community. We had been approved twice through City Hall to be here,” Goewey said. “Our voices are not being heard. This vote was absolutely not fair from the start, I feel like. You guys won’t bring people into what’s left of this town by running everybody out of it.
“I’m not asking for much, I’m asking for you guys to do the right thing – allow my friends, my family, and myself to continue riding our bikes on our private property, as we have all these years.”
Keeley Bogart, who has repeatedly spoken against the State Street Trails being allowed to operate at several prior meetings, reiterated her concerns to the City Council once more.
Bogart said neighborhoods zoned as R-1 Single-Family Residential are designed for small parks and playgrounds, not an outdoor BMX facility. She cautioned council members to consider the precedent these resolutions would set, allowing BMX facilities to be added into any R-1 neighborhood around Alton.
“If this text amendment passes, it chips away at the character of every residential neighborhood in Alton,” Bogart said. “When zoning is weakened, piece by piece, neighborhoods decline … the text amendment they are asking for would add BMX parks into R-1. That is something never intended for low-density neighborhoods.”
Bogart was joined by a few other neighborhood residents who cited noise complaints, traffic, parking, safety concerns, and more in support of shutting the trails down, while supporters framed these claims as unfounded. Heather Thompson, a resident of nearby Norside Drive and a supporter of the trails, said the previous non-problem of 30 years had been turned into a “circus” by “a few unhappy people.”
“We stand tonight as a community in agreement with State Street Trails to stay open,” Thompson said. “Norside is our home, and the trails are our backyard.”
After hearing several public comments on both sides of the issue, City Council members ultimately voted 5-1 to follow the Plan Commission’s recommendation and deny adding “BMX Riding Trail” as a Special Use within R-1 zoning districts. Without that zoning classification, the resolution to grant the trails a special use permit for a BMX Riding Trail was nullified and did not receive a vote.
Alderwoman Martha Pfister cast the sole vote in favor of granting the new zoning classification and Special Use Permit which would have allowed the State Street Trails to continue operating. She later asked if the individual property owners would be allowed to ride their bikes on the property themselves; Deputy Planning & Zoning Director Andi Campbell indicated they would not be allowed to, since BMX riding would not be an allowable use for the property.
Alderman Michael Velloff and Alderwoman Stephanie Elliott were both absent from the meeting. A full recording of the Nov. 25, 2025 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
