Local leaders discuss the rails-to-trails project. | Facebook
Local leaders discuss the rails-to-trails project. | Facebook
In an Oct. 21 Facebook post, Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) wrote about a meeting she attended to discuss connecting the I & M Canal and the Hennepin Canal Parkway.
"#Connectthegap #letsbeatindiana Great American Rail-Trail, former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Dir Colleen Callahan, Senator Win Stoller & local leadership met to discuss connecting the I & M Canal and the Hennepin Canal Parkway. Our goal is to create a 16-mile trail that connects the I&M Canal and the Hennepin Canal Parkway. This project will allow everyone to bike thru Illinois on a connected, safe trail. Indiana is working on a similar project. JB Pritzker let’s connect the 16 mile gap and beat Indiana," Rezin posted.
The Great American Rail-Trail is a project of the Rails to Trails Conservancy, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit. in 2019, REI wrote about the Great American Rail Trail, noting that the new multiuse trail was more than halfway complete at that time. The trail converts old railway corridors to pathways for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians.
The Great American Rail-Trail goes from Washington State to Washington-D.C. An interactive map is available here.
According to environmental website Grist, the idea for a rail to trail project in Illinois goes back to a 1963 letter in the Chicago Tribune by May Theilgaard Watts, which described a vision for Chicago’s rail lines based not on construction and industry, but nature. The publication notes she was inspired by the Appalachian Trail.
Alerts Sign-up