This page shows news articles related to specific greenways and communities.
All News Clips
| Back to List | |
| Wilmette wins $60,000 trail-study grant | |
| Apr 17, 2008 | |
| Ken Goze kgoze@pioneerlocal.com | |
| Wilmette Life | |
| Pertains to Skokie Valley Trail, Wilmette | |
| Plans to convert a seven-mile stretch of a defunct railroad corridor into a recreation trail moved a step closer to reality this week as Wilmette won a $60,000 grant for further engineering studies. The money, to be awarded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, will help area villages fill in many of the details left unanswered by a recent feasibility study. Northbrook, Northfield and Glenview have been working together on the concept, which would create an extension of the Skokie Valley Trail from Lake Cook Road south to Old Orchard Road along the abandoned Union Pacific tracks. The right-of-way runs just west of the Edens Expressway. Challenges outlined The initial feasibility report, presented earlier this spring, found the concept to be promising, but it outlined major funding issues and some technical difficulties that will need to be overcome to build such a trail. Still, the grant is a welcome development, said Wilmette Village President Chris Canning. Canning said state Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, R-17th, was instrumental in getting the grant. "We are making progress. There's still significant challenges, but it does hold promise," Canning said. "Whether we can make it happen or not, it's going to take a lot more work from a lot of folks and there will be costs involved. "The idea that you could keep this land open and use it for recreational purposes is really what drove my interest and continues to drive my interest in it." Price tag could change The cost estimates, which consultants warned likely would change over time, are expected to come out in a final report that is still being finalized. Among the technical challenges of building a trail are how to safely cross high-traffic roads such as Lake Avenue in Wilmette. Consultants have said that crossing likely will require a bridge, although the trail could be rerouted temporarily along Happ Road and Laramie Avenue, which has a light to get riders across Lake. Wilmette's village engineer, Brigitte Mayerhofer, said the grant is likely to cover most, and possibly all of the cost of a Phase I study, which will expand on the feasibility study with environmental studies and more detailed surveys. A Phase I study is a foundation for the final engineering studies which serve as design specifications for contractors. A first step in coming weeks is to identify what needs to be done in the next round of study, because some items traditionally included in a Phase I study were completed already in the initial feasibility report, Mayerhofer said. The seven-mile stretch could be a key link for a growing trail network that could stretch from Chicago all the way up to northern Lake County. |
»»»»»
Greenway Trails
» » »Existing
» » »Project
» » »Potential
Greenway Maps
» » »by Agency
» » »by Scope
Community Systems
» » »Active
» » »Typical
» » »Sedentary
» » »Dead-end
Grade Separations
» » »Existing
» » »Needed
Trail Development
» » »News
» » »Events
Greenway Advocacy Materials
Bicycle Underpass/Overpass Gallery
About Greenway Planning Database
About Steve Breese
PalatineRoad.com
Contact Steve Breese
Greenway Links
ArlingtonTrotters.com
Fast Track Racing Team
COGO
Technical Corner