ST. LOUIS • About 65 people gathered Thursday night at the Forest Park visitor center to pitch ideas for new features along a dual "wheels and heels" path that soon will circle the park perimeter.

The meeting was the first of two public sessions planned by Forest Park Forever, a nonprofit group dedicated to the park's care and improvement. The second is expected in October, after preliminary plans have been presented to the Forest Park Advisory Board.

The dual path system, which offers separate surfaces for users on wheels and those on foot, grew out of a 1995 master plan. The last segments of the dual path — from just east of the Hampton Avenue entrance to the Steinberg Rink area — are under construction now. Completion is expected by the end of November.

The current path is 5.65 miles long, said Bill Reininger, park operations manager for Forest Park Forever. Once completed, the dual path will be slightly longer — probably about 5.8 miles, he said.

Lesley Hoffarth, president and executive director of Forest Park Forever, said a $3 million donation this summer from philanthropist Mary Ann Lee and the Crawford Taylor Foundation made the path's completion possible. About half of the donation will be used for future maintenance, she said.

Hoffarth said a similar financial plan — donations for construction and continuing maintenance — will be used for new improvements alongside the paths. Those new features were the focus of Thursday night's brainstorming session led by Andrew Franke, senior landscape architect with Planning Design Studio in St. Louis.

A few of the views attendees had in common suggested the park should:

• Add signs, both as distance markers and to highlight etiquette. Several users said they would like clear markings showing which path is for use by walkers and which is for cyclists.

• Improve security with call boxes and lighting.

• Offer clean, functioning restrooms and drinking fountains throughout the park.

• Increase the amount of shade and add storm shelters to deal with the elements.

• Add safety improvement — barriers, for example — where motorists and path users meet.

Beverly Logan and Tony Kurz, two of the park users who attended Thursday's meeting, said they were pleased with the discussion.

Kurz said Forest Park compares favorably with others across the country, and the free attractions are a big part of that. He said he was glad to see so many ideas presented.

Logan, who loves to walk in the park, said she is passionate about the park and was glad for the opportunity to share her thoughts.

"We all have a similar mind," Logan said. "We just want to see it be the best it could be."

Those who could not attend the meeting can share their thoughts by taking an online survey available through Forest Park Forever's website at www.forestparkforever.org.