Phase I of new path in Northfield Township opens

[Bike Writer]

Finally and at long last after over two years in the making the first phase of a non motorized pathway in our township just opened Friday with a ribbon cutting.

This is a teeny tiny baby step in the overall scheme of things as far as paths go but it's our very first step in a long road to a network of paths connecting various parts of our community and the first baby step in connecting to other existing trails in neighboring communities. The long range plan is to tie this to the rail trail from the Lake Michigan western boundry of Michigan to the Lake St. Clair eastern boundry of Michigan. Additionally our county has a long range plan of a border to board trail and we expect this to tie to that eventually as well. There are portions of that in existence currently and each new segement works to complete the plan.

Ann Arbor is near the heart of our county and the biggest population base of it, that community has a large cycling component and one of the largest clubs in all of Michigan The Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society. Our township is a direct link from Ann Arbor to the East West rail trail across the state and being able to serve as a link will be a big ecconomic boom to our community when this is realized.

With enormous pride, I cut the ribbon on our first phase Friday! I have several blog posts and photos about this trail on my blog.