Nearly two dozen participants made their mark on the county’s bike trail plan – sharing their thoughts on how far the trail should span, what amenities should be included and what types of landscaping should accompany the various paths.
Trail and mile markers, historical signage and rest areas are just some of the ideas participants mentioned, while others expressed the importance of eventually connecting pathways to all cities and towns within the county.
Jeff Martin, Sr. project landscape architect for Farnsworth Group, says members of his team mostly focused on Lincoln and Atlanta during their initial planning and would not have considered adding other towns in the mix if it weren’t for the design charette.
‘What really hit me was some of the towns that haven’t been brought up in previous meetings and just how important it is to make sure that there’s trails bringing those people over…and not to leave those folks out,’ Martin said. ‘The importance of Mount Pulaski and Elkhart…It seems I underestimated how important it is to make those on the same level as Atlanta and Lincoln.’ Martin says regardless of which routes are included during the final planning stages, Logan County is the missing link to several trails throughout central Illinois. He says any path routes that would get built here could help fill the gap. Martin and several plan enthusiasts believe the county should play up its rich history to draw in visitors from all over. Suggesting trails could center around Abraham Lincoln historic sites, Route 66 and area parks.
‘I think these communities, each one has so much unique history and current stuff going on and I think this is only going to enhance that – so it’s going to bring people to the area, but also give the people that live here even more stuff to do.’ Martin says Farnsworth Group will work over the next two months to assemble the master plan so that the county can move forward to apply for federal and state grants to obtain funding.
“By the end of the year we want to have a plan in place,” Martin said. “Whether that’s officially adopted – the goal is by the end of the year to have something that the county can eventually adopt. So, we’re two to three months out from – two months out from, making that happen.”
Lincoln resident, Jan Dickerson who has had a long interest in having offroad recreational trails in the county says the latest proposal differs from previous bike trail plans because the level of interest from area residents and local governments is greater than in years past.
“It takes the support and backing of government entities, I mean you can be a private (group) and do all you want,” Dickerson said. “But it has to have the backing and support of a government entity that can then go for funding from either state or federal sources. And having a master plan and having a purpose behind it, not just hit or miss trails helps to get that funding. So the difference is now, I think there are some government entities working together behind this to get it going.”
The Logan County Regional Planning Commission will continue to discuss the progress of the Bicycle and Trailway Master Plan during scheduled meetings.
For more information about Farnsworth Group, visit their website at www.fw. com.
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