After two previous rejections, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund recommended they receive a $3,755,400 grant to acquire the now-abandoned rail corridor which runs between the West Bloomfield Trail and the Huron Valley Trail in Wixom.

This near 33 acres provides a critical connection between the two trails mentions, but especially in the context of the Great Lake to Lake Trail which connects St. Clair to Lake Michigan. This new trail would also connect with the planned M-5 Trail which is a northern?extension?to the I-275 Metro Trail.

The funding also includes acquisition of the?Walled Lake Train Depot which would be used as a historic stopping point along the route.

Other projects in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties were recommended:

• City of Dearborn (Wayne County) is recommended to receive $268,900 to develop a new bridge across the Huron River on the Camp Dearborn non-motorized trail with a fishing pier and canoe launch.
• City of Detroit (Wayne County) is recommended to receive $300,000 for improvements to Jayne-Lasky Playfield, including development of walking trails, relocation of a soccer field, renovations to two softball diamonds, landscaping improvements and site amenities.
• City of Detroit (Wayne County) is recommended to receive $300,000 for improvements to Lipke Playfield, including relocation of a football field, conversion of open space, horseshoe courts, renovation of a softball diamond, walking trails, landscaping and site amenities.
• Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (Oakland County) is recommended to receive $94,000 for improvements to Kensington Metropark to include a pond overlook, replace a seawall, walks and railing, group seating area, interpretive signage, viewing scopes and accessibility to pond dipping programs.
• City of Inkster (Wayne County) is recommended to receive $300,000 to construct a trail within the Lower Rouge Parkway System.
• City of Lathrup Village (Oakland County) is recommended to receive $50,000 to replace playground equipment at Goldengate Park.
• Oakland Township (Oakland County) is recommended to receive $300,000 to develop a paved trail, boardwalks, pedestrian bridges, interpretive/directional signage and fishing access on the Paint Creek Trail/Polly Ann Trail south connector.
• Southeast Michigan Eco-Region Consolidation is recommended to receive $1,475,000 for the acquisition of critical in-holdings within existing boundaries in state parks and recreation areas, state game areas, state harbors and Natural Rivers areas.

Related Posts

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• Detroit-area Trail projects seek Trust Fund dollars

There is a bridge that carries I-96 traffic over the Huron Valley Trail just east of Milford Road. As part of a larger freeway construction project, MDOT wants to replace the bridge with a low maintenance box culvert.

When MDOT initially asked the Huron Valley Trail committee about creating a detour, they declined. It appears some minds have changed.

MDOT is now hosting a public meeting to discuss having a trail detour.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is making improvements in your community. The Huron Valley Trail is expected to be closed under the railroad bridge in the Spring of 2011 & we need your help. On October 13, 2010, stop by anytime between 3pm-7pm to share your ideas and be a part of the planning process.

We’ll be at the Lyon Township Municipal Center, 58000 Grand River Ave about½ mile west of Milford Rd.

See you there!

For more information, call Sue Datta at (248) 483-5135.

It seems to us that this might be a good time to put bike lanes on Milford Road.

Also, if you want to stay on top of issues like this, there is a new Friends of the Huron Valley Trail email list.

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Jeff was a former mayor in South Lyon and very involved in the Huron Valley Trail (which connects South Lyon, Island Lake State Recreation Area, Kensington Metropark, and Wixom.)

This spring Jeff had shared with me a letter of support he’d written for the trail grant to expand the Huron Valley Trail over to West Bloomfield. One would be hard pressed to write a better letter of support. And in retrospect, it really shows Jeff’s thorough understanding of trails and their benefits from both a user and municipal perspective.

A favorite quote is, “…bike paths are not simply a resource for a small minority of bicycling enthusiasts and long distance riders, recognizable by their specialized gear (and physiques to match) but a valid transportation resource, and also a way to give our communities back to us from the dominance of the automobile and the outsize features which support it.”

While his support letter is long, it’s worth reading. It’s shown below in its entirety.

Rest in peace, Jeff Potter. We’ll miss you and continue to carry that torch.

Jeff Potter’s letter of support for the Wixom-Walled Lake-Commerce Trail:

I am a recreational user of our bike paths, and an avid proponent of their expansion, presently serving as the Oakland County Commissioner for Wixom and Walled Lake, who I understand are co-applicants for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund for the purpose of acquisition of 5.33 miles of railroad right-of-way, leading through Commerce, to West Bloomfield.

My support for this project does not come casually. I was fortunate to have served as the Mayor of the City of South Lyon, when the original segment of the Huron Valley Trail was built, then as a City linear park for local recreational and pedestrian use, family strolling and healthful outdoor activity. Even then, the thought was that going ahead with this path would serve as a demonstration project, and a catalyst, beckoning our City’s neighbors with the idea of making this into a regional resource, (since the Metropark and similar destinations were beyond our control); and also to serve as an actual practical alternative to driving for trips, both local and commuting.

The idea which was advanced at the time, by the City, and our regional allies, was that bike paths are not simply a resource for a small minority of bicycling enthusiasts and long distance riders, recognizable by their specialized gear (and physiques to match) but a valid transportation resource, and also a way to give our communities back to us from the dominance of the automobile and the outsize features which support it.

Only too well, do I remember the concern of some, regarding the use of these pathways, for the potential disruption of their lifestyles, intimations of criminal activity, noise, littering, and other matters.

Today, this path stands in marked contrast to the Land of Broken Refrigerators— complete with suspicious-looking idling pickup trucks and four-wheelers—which preceded it. Our neighbors have since reached out to provide a route to the Metropark, and Island Lake, and to Wixom. And the Milford community has embraced this path as well, with their own extension, providing a northerly option, as well.

On any given day, this path is patrolled, in effect, by Senior citizens, alert, cell-phones at the ready, on their daily walks, some considerately picking up litter as they pass by. Groups of kids regularly use the path to make their ways to and from school; and the more committed recreational enthusiasts for a walk or jog to a nearby community.

Prior to the closing of the Wixom Ford Plant in 1997, I myself was able to use this for a daily 10-mile commute to work, obviating the need for specially-planned exercise, etc., as I was able to work it into my daily routine. This provided a safe and dependable alternative to the precarious route along the local mile-roads in the predawn darkness, and the crumbling edges, and narrow, low-lying shoulders they offered in the event of a need to escape oncoming traffic.

Many, many, times on my ride home in the afternoons, I was greeted by my South Lyon neighbors, venturing to escape the city and enjoy the peaceful rural environs, previously so close, but so inaccessible. These included residents of our senior complex, who would venture as far as Wixom on their coaster bikes, to enjoy some exercise and fresh air.

The concern and opposition melted away as the reality of this accomplishment took root. No significant incidents have been reported on our section of this path; and to the visitor it presents a compelling tableau of a peaceful, thriving community, and an inviting place to visit, or to make a home.

In fact, one national developer was compelled enough by the idea of connecting his subdivision to this path that he voluntarily contributed over $400,000 in path improvements to connect to it, including two bridges across city-owned wetlands.

Initial skepticism about the salability of homes directly on the path itself, have vanished, as some new residents were willing even to pay site premiums to be able to send their kids right out of the back door, for a safe walk to school or town, or to enjoy coffee on their decks, watching their neighbors parade on by.

This has been repeated several times across town as new residents clamor for this access and builders compete to provide it.

I am adding these personal observations, only because the proposed award can only build on the accomplishments and ample successes our neighbors have already created. The completed path will not only add to the safety and livability of our shared community; but when it is properly land marked and publicized, it will surely “turn heads” as a regional resource for recreational tourism, linking our many parks and communities, and supporting our many businesses connected to it.

Indeed, I remember, before the present Huron Valley Trail was extended to my community that my friends and I would travel to the KalHaven Trail, in western Michigan, to find a community which could afford us a 30-mile bike trip. It was common to see other residents of the Detroit Metro area in a similar pursuit; in fact, I would estimate them to comprise about half of those who had made this trip.

These will include Walled Lake’s downtown, with their recognized Main Street investments, Wixom’s Village Center Area, with residential condominiums already in place, and an emerging retail and restaurant sector, Lyon Township’s Downtown Development Area, including the new shopping center, downtown South Lyon, and Novi’s planned lakeside park, as well as Commerce Township. In addition, each of these feature, to a greater or lesser extent, development of local sidewalk and path systems to add to this path, or draw from it, serving literally hundreds of thousands of southeast Michigan residents, including Novi’s, whose very large population now has access by way of a pedestrian/bike capability thoughtfully added to the new MDOT bridge recently opened over I-96 in Wixom.

With the planned completion of this segment, the Department of Natural Resources will have generously afforded this same opportunity to our metro residents. Affording a trip from West Bloomfield, through Walled Lake and Wixom, skirting the Oakland County Park, and making a lakeside pass through Kensington and Island Lake, before proceeding to a destination and comfortable stroll or a meal in South Lyon, represents a challenge to the novice, and a route equal to the needs of most avid cyclists, seeking a route around which to form a weekend retreat, without leaving the area.

This will complete one of the few “missing links” that will serve to connect the cross state Michigan Airline Trail, which runs from South Haven (at Lake Michigan) to Port Huron (at Lake Huron). It will abut the West Bloomfield trail to the east, which recently was awarded MNRTF grant monies for acquisition and the Huron Valley Trail to the west.

Our communities have banded together to form the Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trailway Management Council for the explicit purpose of acquisition of this railroad right-of -way and development of a trail on it. The Communities have drafted a regional master plan to reflect this goal, which is already a part of each of their Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Public support has been impressive, as well as support from the local Parks and Recreation Commissions, City Councils, Township Board, adjacent communities and Planning Commissions.

The Trailway will provide an additional recreational opportunity, natural viewing areas and connectivity not just between communities but to local businesses and parks. This 5.33 mile trail will also afford people an alternative to walking/running, etc… on or adjacent to busy public roads or taking hazardous short cuts. The Trailway will further our State’s goal of providing healthy recreation opportunities, and at the same time offer a low cost/no cost educational opportunity for school children to study and enjoy the abundance of natural features and local history. I strongly urge the Michigan Natural Resources and Environment Trust Fund board members to approve this important request for the funding of the Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trail, and profusely thank them in advance.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey L. Potter

Oakland County Commissioner, District #8

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They’re expensive, obnoxious, and as far as we can tell, somewhat ineffective.

As for the obnoxiousness, here are the instructions.

“Hello. You’ve activated the crosswalk signal.

“Wait for traffic to stop before you cross.

“To show traffic you want to cross, place one foot near the curb line.

“And remember to thank the driver as you are crossing the roadway.”

Why are pedestrians and cyclists instructed to thank motorists just for following state and low crosswalk laws? Shouldn’t that be a basic expectation?

In this case, their ineffectiveness may stem from their poor location outside of the driver’s view. This is especially the case on Grand River. Once the trees leaf out, it’s uncertain how much of the sign will even be visible. With Grand River being rebuilt, Lyon Township and the Road Commission for Oakland County have an opportunity to make this crossing safe through bump outs, a refuge island, improved street lighting and zebra striping.

It should also be noted that these signs were installed on the wrong side of the trail. They should be on the right not the left. Their location is being changed.

If we’re not mistaken, these were installed in the fall. Already a driver has taken one out. It’s being replaced.

And finally, while testing them on Grand River, a van never slowed when the sign was activated and we were trying to cross. It appeared they were texting.

Maybe we should thank those drivers that aren’t driving while distracted, too.

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• MDOT seeks input on a Huron Valley Trail detour
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BikeFitness.net is reporting that arsonists set fire to a trail bridge just north of Clarkson Road in Orion Township.

The arson occurred early this morning. There was still fire retardant foam on the trail and over the creek leading to a pond. There’s no way the bridge can be repaired. It was an old railroad trestle that had just been given a new surface. It will need to be to be taken completely out and replaced. That sure isn’t going to happen any time soon.

There is a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest and/or conviction of those responsible.

For photos and additional information, visit the BikeFitness.net web site.

I-275 Metro Trail work to begin

First, the I-275 Bike Path now has a new name: the I-275 Metro Trail. Since the trail is not just for biking, this makes sense. It’s also (mostly) within MDOT’s Metro Region.

HometownLife (via Erie Hiker) has an article on the I-275 Metro Trail reconstruction efforts.

MDOT is in the process of advertising for a contractor for the $4 million project and, according to MDOT project manager Gorette Yung, expects to have one chosen by October. She said work is expected to begin in the spring and by complete by fall 2010.

Since this is using stimulus funding, this project has a hard deadline.

In addition to  this work, MDOT is continuing to make progress on the M-5 Metro Trail between 13 Mile and 14 Mile. It’s expected that this trail will go out to bid this fall with construction beginning in spring of 2010.

Rail-Trail expansion keeps moving forward

The Spinal Column has reported on the recent progress with the Huron Valley Trail expansion.

The Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trailway Management Council has approved a regional master plan for the Michigan Airline Railroad Corridor that stretches through those communities, and has set out to obtain grants that would cover the cost of acquiring the railroad corridor property.

This trail segment will be critical in that it completes a missing section of the cross-state Michigan Airline Trail. It’ll also connect with Phase II of the M-5 Metro Trail which runs between 14 Mile and Maple and is scheduled to be developed in 2010-2011.

Fixing up the Macomb Orchard Trail

There’s a pretty loose and rocky section of the Macomb Orchard Trail that makes biking less than enjoyable. The good news is a 6-inch layer of fines will be layered on top next spring. This new layer should firm up the trail. The same solution was used on a loose section of the Paint Creek Trail many years ago.

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Bagley Bridge in Mexicantown

The ribbon cutting for the I-75 Gateway Project was Monday.

Northbound and southbound I-75 are now open. However, the Bagley bike and pedestrian bridge is not.

MDOT announced that the ramps will be completed in a later construction phase. According to the Detroit News, it won’t open until November.

Metro Detroit Trails

The Detroit News recently published an interactive map showing shared-use trails in Metro Detroit. It really shows how these trails are starting to connect into a larger regionwide network — a process largely led by the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

Draft Trailway Master Plan

The Spinal Column is reporting the completion of a draft master plan for the Huron Valley Trail extension eastward from Wixom to M-5.

The Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trailway Management Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on July 30 in the Commerce Township Hall to receive public comment on a proposed master plan for the Michigan Airline Railroad corridor.

The trailway council, made up of representatives of three communities that seek to acquire stretches of the railroad running through their jurisdiction, is expected to adopt the master plan at the July 30 meeting.

This plan was paid for by a $5,250 donation from the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

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As we’ve reported prior, this would connect the Huron Valley Trail with the West Bloomfield Trail (and their planned extension), while creating 8 miles new miles rail-trail.

The communities have formally created a trailways alliance called the Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trailway Management Council. Each municipality appointed one voting member to act in its best interests. Wixom City Manager Mike Dornan will represent Wixom, with Assistant City Manager Tony Nowicki serving as an alternate.

According to Nowicki, the formation of the trailway council is the first step toward acquiring railroad corridor property that spans from Haggerty Road to the western city limits of Wixom. That stretch is considered part of a missing link in a cross-county trail traversing the county limits and connecting into a cross-state corridor connecting one side of the state to the other.

“The council’s powers are limited to the acquisition and maintenance (of the rail corridor land), and for the purchase of railway right of way,” Nowicki said. “It doesn’t have the authority to levy any type of taxes.

Nowicki is currently preparing grant applications to seek funding to acquire the rail corridor.

Read the entire article

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As we noted, the DNR was not going to allow driveways across the trail and that killed the deal.

Very recently the Township met with the DNR to discuss a framework for a new, more trail-friendly proposal. And though that proposal has not yet been made, some of the ideas discussed include:

• Keeping the trail on the original railroad right-of-way
• Allowing the Township’s ring road to cross the trail with a redesigned crossing that emphasizes safety

And because trail users are conceding this new road crossing, some additional trail improvements are expected in return. Those may include:

• Additional connections to local schools, parks, local businesses
• Lighting
• A trail head/staging area
• Eliminating or consolidating driveways near the Grand River trail crossing which make it messy
• Working with the DNR to have a trail bridge over Pontiac Trail

Overall, the theme of these possible benefits are safety and more connections — and protecting the public investment in this trail.

We should know more once Township comes back with an updated proposal, but it seems as though things are moving in a better direction for trail users.

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Lyon Township is trying to change that.

They want to re-route the rail-trail just south of I-96 and east of Milford Road. Rather than run straight through some greenspace, they want to increase their sprawl and build a big ring road.

Under the latest plan, the trail would be routed along this busy ring road. They also want to allow active driveways across the trail, which means it would no longer meet AASHTO guidelines — something that is required by township ordinance.

The DNR is saying “no”. They own the trail property. It was purchased and developed with taxpayer dollars as a recreational facility. They are defending this public investment and rightly so.

Another defender is Fred Dore, long time supporter and rider of this trail. He’s leading the grassroots effort to protect the trail from “being besieged by commercial development interests that may forever damage its utility, safety and natural beauty.”

He’s urging trail users to contact the DNR and Lyon Township officials to prevent this damaging trail reroute.

Link: Fred Dore’s letter to the DNR Director

The sad part about this is Lyon Township officials are claiming this is preventing growth. Southeast Michigan is not growing. Lyon Township is only getting larger because some other community is shrinking.

This is just another example of how the lack of regional planning hurts Metro Detroit’s long term economic health.

It’s just sprawl. And it’s certainly no justification for damaging our public investment in trails.

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If you haven’t already contacted your legislator about this, please do so. Reports are coming in about legislators on the west side of the state trying to get this worthy project removed from MDOT’s stimulus funding list. Although nothing is official yet, it may have already been significantly downsized.

I-275/M-5 Path Extension

As we noted earlier, there are plans to extend the I-275 bike path north along the M-5 corridor. Initial plans for the segment between 13 Mile and 14 Mile are on-line.

If you missed the recent public meeting on this project, you can still send your comments to the Wade-Trim project manager, Jamie Brown.

Huron Valley Trail Extension

The Spinal Column is reporting that local officials are continuing to meet to discuss an eastward extension of the Huron Valley Trail. This extension would connect the trail with a planned extension of the West Bloomfield Trail.

Wixom City Manager J. Michael Dornan said … CW3 officials used last week’s meeting to discuss applying for grants to purchase the former Coe Railroad property in three of the communities.

B. Allen Brown, president and CEO of Railmark Holdings, Inc., who owns the railroad, has entered into negotiations to sell the railroad property. West Bloomfield, Walled Lake, Wixom, and Commerce Township officials are discussing the viability of collectively purchasing the 8.08 miles of rail corridor to complete the Huron Valley Trail and West Bloomfield Trail.

Chuck Montange of Montoff Transportation, LLC, known for buying up railroads and converting them into trail systems, is the acting intermediary in the talks. The transaction must be handled by a transportation company. Montange has paid for an appraisal and made arrangements with both Brown and a bank.

This is great news for a key east-west connector that would also tie into the M-5/I-275 bike path.

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