Action Alert Trail Opportunity: Northwestern Greenway The webmaster of the Greenway Planning Database, Steve Breese, has proposed a new multi-use trail along a vacant strip of property along the northern boundary of Inverness.  Efforts to secure a pedestrian underpass under Dundee Road during the current bridge recontruction project have been unsuccessful. (see Timeline below)  Greenway Corridor The trail would be built on a 1.75 mile strip of land located immediately south and parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad between Quentin and Dundee Roads.  Most of this corridor is preserved as a trail easement along the rear lots of single family homes.	DOWNLOAD CORRIDOR MAP - FULL AERIAL 12.4 Mb DOWNLOAD CORRIDOR MAP - AERIAL ONLY WITHIN CORRIDOR 7 Mb
	DOWNLOAD UNDERPASS CONCEPT MAP 2 Mb
Trail Easement Arthur T. McIntosh's vision for Inverness included bridal paths linking all areas in the Village.   That's why he included a trail easement along the entire northern border of his Baldwin Hills subdivision "for the use and benefit of the residents of Inverness".	DOWNLOAD BALDWIN HILLS SUBDIVISION (930 Kb)
Pedestrian Underpass Reconstruction of the Dundee Road bridge over Union Pacific Railroad and Northwest Highway is currently taking place.  Efforts to secure a pedestrian underpass have come to late.  This $13.4 million bridge project includes no bicycle or pedestrian accommodations.	DOWNLOAD IDOT ENGINEERING PLANS (13 Mb)

Timeline

This timeline lists all action taken in the development of this trail.

• Saturday, February 25th, 2006 -Daily Herald article announcing that Dundee Rd. bridge project is slated for 2007.
• Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 -Steve seeks advice on how to proceed from Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's North Suburban Community Coordinator Norbert Budde.  Budde says to act quickly, because design changes are difficult to make as the construction date approaches.
• Monday, May 22nd, 2006 -Contact initiated with John Baczek, IDOT's Head of Consultant Studies Unit, District 1. Baczek says he was unaware of any planned trails in this area and requests information on planned trails and a contact person of a "lead" agency. He mailed a copy of the plans.
• Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 -Steve sends an e-mail to the Palatine Park District Board of Commissioners to alert them to IDOT bridge project and requested that they be the lead agency for a pedestrian underpass.
• Friday, May 26th, 2006 -Conversation with Pat Moser, Superintendent of Parks and Planning division of Palatine Park District.
• Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 -Breese presented the trail opportunity to the Palatine Park District Board of Commissioners. He provided several key arguments in favor of the trail and requested they contact IDOT regarding a possible pedestrian underpass. The Board directs staff to further investigate this opportunity. Meeting minutes .
• Wednesday, June 28th, 2006 -Breese meets with Gbur and Moser of the Park District to review IDOT's bridge plans.
• Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 -Moser wrote a letter to IDOT to request a bicycle underpass and a pedestrian/equestrian activated crossing signal.
• Thursday, September 7th, 2006 -Because IDOT failed to respond to the July 5th inquiry, Moser wrote a second letter to IDOT requesting a status report to the bicycle & equestrian accommodation requests.
• Wednesday, September 20th, 2006 -IDOT Region 1 Engineer responded to the Park District's request for a pedestrian underpass. Her letter stated that they cannot include the underpass without an agreement with the Railroad. Their was no mention of the equestrian signal request.
• Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 -Breese wrote a letter to the Park District requesting that they seek ownership, lease, or a trail easement of the vacant strip of abandoned railroad property.
• Monday, October 9th, 2006 -The Palatine Park District Board of Commissioners discussed the bike trail and directed staff to write the railroad to request an easement along the tracks. Download meeting minutes .
• Monday, October 23rd, 2006 -Moser wrote a letter to Union Pacific Railroad requesting a trail easement. He included Steve's corridor map in the mailing.
• Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007 -Received letter from Union Pacific. They declined our request for a trail easement. UP "does not like" paths near the vicinity of its tracks.
• Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 -Steve speaks to Palatine Park District Board Meeting during Recognition of Citizens.  Commissioners suggest contacting elected officials to gain support for pedestrian underpass.  Download meeting minutes .
• Thursday, January 11th, 2007 -Steve wrote a letter to Inverness Mayor Jack Tatooles seeking his support. He did not respond.
• Monday, April 9th, 2007 -Construction began on Dundee Road bridge reconstruction project.
• Thursday, April 12th, 2007 -Steve sent an e-mail to several agencies and elected officials alerting them to the greenway opportunity. He requested they contact IDOT to request the underpass.
• Monday, May 14th, 2007 -Steve presented proposal to Inverness Park District Board. They are willing to meet with Palatine Park District and IDOT.     Meeting Agenda · Meeting Notes (forthcoming)
• Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 -Steve sent an e-mail to Palatine Park District to inform them about the confirmed trail easement, the Inverness Park District response, and to request that they set up a meeting between the two Park Districts and IDOT. On May 23rd, the PPD Board directed staff to arrange this meeting. Meeting date and location is forthcoming.
• Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 -Moser of Palatine Park District writes IDOT requesting a meeting to discuss potential trail including trail ROW, crossing state highways and connections to other bike paths.
• Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 -A meeting between 6 agencies was held at IDOT District 1 headquarters to present the proposed trail and discuss state ROW crossings, connections with area bikeway systems, and possible funding.

  Attendees:

  • Steve Breese, bicycle advoate, GIS Analyst
  • Pat Moser, Supt. of Parks, Palatine Park District
  • Nancy DiGioia, Manager, Board Secretary, Inverness Park District
  • Lucia Flanagan, Manager, Inverness Park District
  • Brook Zurich, Planning Division of the Village of Barrington
  • Dan White, Planning & Development Dept of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
  • Dave Longo, NE Illinois Greenways Coordinator, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
  • Diane O'Keefe, Deputy Director of Highways, Region 1 Engineer, IDOT
  • Clarita Lao, Program Development Engineer, IDOT
• Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 -Moser reported to the Commissioners on the status of the proposal. Inverness Park District was not interested in a path south of the railroad because they don't have the money for it. As an alternative, the Palatine Park District will pursue a side path along the north side of Northwest Highway/US 14.
• Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 -The Complete Streets bill has been enacted which states that IDOT reconstruction and expansion roadwork in urban areas must now include provision for people who walk or bike.

Existing Conditions

IDOT itself has rated both intersecting roads as "NOT RECOMENDED FOR BICYCLING" on their Official Bikeway Map (3.4 Mb).  No sidewalks exist on either roadway.

Description of Bridge Project

The proposed typical section of the bridge carrying Dundee Road over the UP Railroad and U.S. Route 14 is to have two 12' lanes and an 8' shoulder in each direction.

Shortcomings of this design

• No bicycle underpass
• No sidewalks
• No bicycle lane striping
• No rubberized surface for equestrians

Examples of what I was proposing:

Which Trail?

A trail along and parallel to the south side of Union Pacific right-of-way is shown on plans produced by 5 municipal, 2 regional, and 1 county government agencies.  These are listed here:

Rail-with-Trail  Northwestern Greenway is displayed in... Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's Greenways and Trails Plan [2009] Citizens for Conservation's Greenway Plan [1993] City of Des Plaines's Trails Plan [2007] City of Harvard's Greenways Plan [1997] Forest Preserve District of Cook County's Open Space Plan [2000] Illinois Prairie Trail Authority's Trail Map [1998] McHenry County Conservation District's Trails Plan [2000] Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission's Greenways Plan [1997] Northwest Municipal Conference's Facilities Plan [2012] Openlands Project's Planning Map [1987] Village of Arlington Heights's Bikeways Map [1997] Village of Barrington's Bikeways Plan [2000] Village of Barrington Hills's Comprehensive Plan [2005] Village of Fox River Grove's Trail Plan [1996] Village of Fox River Grove's Trail Plan [2005] Village of Palatine's Sub-Area Plan [2004]         = trail proposed at subject location

Notes regarding these plans:

• Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission's Greenways and Trails plan shows a path extending from Deer Grove west along the north side of Northwest Highway, and then crossing Northwest Highway just before Bakers Lake. The trail would then continue through Bakers Lake Forest Preserve onto Crabtree and to the planned EJ&E greenway. Provisions for this trail were not included during the recent reconstruction of Northwest Highway and redevelopment of Makray Golf Course, nor was an underpass installed under the newly rebuilt roadway to accommodate a path in the future. This was a missed opportunity.
• Village of Palatine's 2004 Downtown Land Use Guide includes an extension of the Railwalk path along the south side of the railroad. It doesn't specify how far, but in a past discussion I had with the Village Manager, he said it would be feasible and a good idea to extend the Railwalk west and east of downtown.
• A trail along the south side of the railroad is shown in the 3 other municipal bike trail plans. These will benefit their respective communities. However, if a continuous trail connected all towns, the benefits would be much greater.

Trail Name

According to the 1997 NIPC Greenways and Trails Plan, this trail is referred to as \"Union Pacific Corridor" in McHenry County.  The trail connection between Deer Grove Forest Preseve and Crabtree is known as "Crabtree to Deer Grove Corridor".  Forest Preserve District of Cook County proposes a trail called C&NW RR Trail in their Land Acquisition Plan.

I have given this trail a working name of "Northwestern Corridor".

Key Person Contact Info

Note: E-mail address for most contacts can be requested via Contact Web Form

• Steve Breese
  GIS Analyst, webmaster of www.PalatineGreenway.com, and Resident of Palatine
  Phone: 630/871-6430
  E-mail: Contact Web Form
  Mail:
  Steve Breese
  1405 Gloria Dr.
  Palatine, IL 60074

• John Baczek
  IDOT's Head of Consultant Studies Unit, District 1
  Phone: 847/705-4125
  Fax at 847/705-4159
  Mail:
  Illinois Department of Transportation
  Attn: John Baczek
  Bureau of Programming
  201 West Center Court
  Schaumburg, IL 60196-1096

• Pat Moser
  Superintendent of Parks and Planning
  Palatine Park District
  Phone: 847-705-5123 x201
  Fax at 847/991-2127
  Mail:
  Palatine Park District
  Attn: Pat Moser
  Parks and Planning
  250 E. Wood Street
  Palatine, IL 60067

Get involved!

If we don't act now, IDOT will maintain another barrier to safe and enjoyable recreational and commuter cyling.  When barriers are not removed when opportununities arise, local governments resort to building sidepaths along uninviting highways at the expense of potentially popular greenway trails built far removed from automobile traffic.  


I invite you to be a part of something that will benefit our communities for an eternity.  Please submit a message via the Contact Page if you wold like to receive updates and notification of project meetings.