Extending the Des Plaines River Trail through River Forest is one step closer following action by the River Forest Village Board at the March 25 meeting.
The board voted unanimously to approve an intergovernmental agreement with the village of Rosemont for $66,900 for the village’s portion of Phase 1 design of the project. The River Forest section of the trail will mainly run along Thatcher Avenue between North Avenue and Madison Street with a smaller section running along Madison between Thatcher and Van Buren Street, where it will connect with a proposed biking/walking path in Forest Park.
In a memo to Matt Walsh, village administrator, Mike Reynolds, interim director of public works, explained that the Des Plaines River Trail is an improvement to the existing trail system, an attempt to increase usability. The trail runs along the Des Plaines River through Lake and Cook counties between Wadsworth on the north and North Avenue on the south. Plans call for connecting the 56-mile-long Des Plaines River Trail with the 61-mile-long Illinois Prairie Path, using the River Forest section and a planned bike path along Van Buren Street in Forest Park, which would create a continuous trail from the Wisconsin/Illinois border to Wheaton.
Approval of the attached IGA with the village of Rosemont is necessary for River Forest to participate in the project and to ensure project continuity moving forward, Reynolds said. Rosemont officials already approved the IGA.
The upgraded path will include various elevation changes, allowing its use for a greater period each year and will now connect each community on the trail down through River Forest, Reynolds said. The trail may also provide additional benefits for traffic control on Thatcher Avenue.
In working with Christopher B. Burke Engineering the project stakeholders were recently able to secure Surface Transportation Funding through the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in the amount of $156,100, Reynolds said. With a total Phase I fee of $223,000, the local match portion that River Forest would be responsible for is $66,900.
Although officials anticipated that staff members would meet to review the preliminary concept plans, Trustee Katie Brennan suggested that officials reach out to any remaining members of an ad hoc resident committee that was formed when the matter was first discussed several years ago.
Reynolds said the project schedule and any necessary deliverables would need to be determined. While Phase II design and construction costs are not yet known, it is anticipated that the project stakeholders will continue to seek grant awards to help offset as much of the direct costs to the village, he added.
According to the Cook County Forest Preserves website, the Cook County portion of the Des Plaines River Trail is 28.4 miles long, consisting of paved and unpaved surfaces. The Cook County Forest Preserve system includes over 350 miles of paved and unpaved trails.