Remember “The Tortoise and the Hare?” It’s one of Aesop’s Fables with a simple moral lesson: slow and steady wins the race.

Slow and steady is a requirement when a trail project involves a railroad.

The Rock Island Trail is one of the Pikes Peak region’s key trails but for years has been missing a critical segment. There’s a 1.25-mile gap between Pikes Peak Greenway and Templeton Gap Road.

For close to two decades, staff members from Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services have tried to work out an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Chicago Rock Island Railroad). Each time they’d make progress, railroad personnel would change and the conversation would begin again.

The city tried buying the 7 acres needed in phases. They tried trail easements and lease agreements. None of it worked.

But the tortoise wouldn’t stop moving. Finally, the hare grew weary of the unending stream of emails and calls.

This month, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and TOPS Working Committee had the pleasure of approving the purchase of railroad property that will lead to the connection of Rock Island Trail and Pikes Peak Greenway, providing a key link for the Legacy Loop.

There are conditions: The trail must be constructed at least 25 feet from the tracks and an 8-foot chain-link fence with two gates must be installed to give railroad personnel access to the tracks and keep trail users away. The city also must secure a small trail corridor on property owned by the American Numismatic Association, but prospects look promising and an on-street alignment will work until then.

The price tag is $749,400, to be paid from the TOPS trail account. Money well spent.

Now it’s time to look south and come up with a solution for the southern end of the Legacy Loop connecting Shooks Run Trail and Pikes Peak Greenway. This is another trail gap priority involving, among other things, a railroad.

While the next finish line is some distance away, local trail history teaches us quitting is not an option.

Go tortoise!

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Davies is the executive director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition. Read her columns on the fourth Thursday of each month in Out There.