Pathway Joining Northville and Northville Township Begins to Take Shape
The Bennett Arboretum Pathway project is scheduled to be finished by Nov. 1.
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After three years of long, hard work, the Bennett Arboretum Pathway project is now underway, thanks to help of officials from Wayne County, City of Northville and Northville Township.
The pathway, a half-mile-long non-motorized pedestrian route, will connect Northville Township and the city along the east side of Sheldon Road, between Six and Seven Mile roads.
Laura Cox, Wayne County Commissioner representing Plymouth, Northville and parts of Livonia, was one of the key officials in getting the project off the ground.
"It was a great idea," Cox said. "It has educational purpose as well as recreational purpose. It's in a great location. It has connectivity - it connects the township with the city. It was a really long and arduous process, but we really stuck to our guns and worked on making a design that was affordable that did all the things we wanted to do."
Cox said she began talking to local officials to decide what to do with the percentage of Wayne County Parks Millage money that came back to the community when she heard about the stalled pathway project idea.
"I have been a runner for years on and off and at that time I was running a lot in the county park there," Cox said. "We went over there and looked at the site and tried to decide what's the best way to do it."
Previously, there had never before been a pathway connected Northville Township to the city of Northville.
"We've observed for many years that there have been a fair number of people that have walked down Sheldon Road into the city," Don Weaver, Northville Township Director of Public Services said. "Which obviously is a pretty dangerous situation. There's guardrails in there and a very narrow shoulder. This will be a much more convenient means for people to come in. And it provides an excellent location to come into the city because it's right there by the Farmer's Market. People from the township will be able to visit that and get on sidewalks and go all the way downtown."
The total cost of the pathway is $1.15 million, the majority of which will be paid for by the Wayne County Parks Millage and a $450,000 grant from the Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project.
The township is contributing $170,000, while the city of Northville contributes $33,000, determined by the shared services formula in which the township covers 84 percent while the city pays the remaining 16 percent.
The city and the township will jointly maintain the pathway, according to Weaver.
The pathway will include an eight foot wide asphalt pathway, an elevated boardwalk and a steel bridge over Johnson Creek.
"It was a very big learning experience for me," Cox said. "It is a great ending to a very long story. I'm so excited and elated to see it finally being worked on and I can't wait to actually walk down it."
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Northville City Hall
215 W Main St, Northville, MI -
Northville Township
44405 6 Mile Rd, Northville, MI -
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Debra Pope
10:13 am on Monday, August 8, 2011
This is all great and wonderful, but how can we justify spending this money, when our whole state, including our counties are so broke?, is this a need or a want ? Seems like a cosmetic thing to myself and most of my friends.Who is picking up the tab for this project? Is this something that we all voted for?
Bart Heldke
11:00 am on Monday, August 8, 2011
I think it's highly justifiable since as the article states most of the money came from a millage that was already passed and the rest from a grant and then a small amount from both the Township and City. This is long overdue. It addresses a safety concern and it will further promote shopping in the city by allowing walkers/bikers safe access. I've long been a user of the Hines Drive and I 275 bike trails and this will further develop the connections necessary to make the sidewalks and trails we already have useful. Sidewalks and trails don't work if you can't get anywhere. This will definitely make connecting Northivlle and Northville TWp worthwhile. I'm hoping to be able to go from Northville to Plymouth all the way on a trail someday.
Denise Nash
12:22 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
I think it's a great idea also, Bart. It will make our two communities more walkable and this is important now that gas is close to $4 a gallon. It will certainly improve property values in the future, too. As to our state being "broke" I beg to differ. We can afford to give a 1.8 billion dollar tax break to businesses so we must be rolling in dough.
Karen Schweim
1:17 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
Living in Kings Mill where over 450 families live and are within easy walking distance to the City of Northville from Northville Twp. - my requests to have a safe path to use to get to town have been blown off. I could walk to a wonderful library and grocery store - which I still do but I do not feel safe walking through the Hines Park wooded and flooded areas. I hope the new path is worth the million and half dollars that we are paying for it.
Denise Nash
2:24 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
I think it will be - but I am a big believer in "quality of life" issues. I don't blame you re: Hines Park. It seems creepy to me at times. Hopefully your issues can be resolved soon also. We need more walking/biking and less driving in the future, IMO. And I need to remember that myself! LOL!
Brett Pedersen
4:20 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
This is fantastic news. All too often I see community members and student athletes forced to use the shoulder on Sheldon Road. It simply isn't safe and also deters many people from walking, jogging, or biking into town. Any time infrastructure enables people to be more active I get excited.
Liliana Licon-Hein
5:02 pm on Tuesday, August 9, 2011
I think this is a wonderful project and I think the value will be tangible once it is finished! I see the number of people who ride their bikes and walk to the farmer's market via Sheldon and I have always worried that someone will get hurt. I believe many people who would like to walk into Northville do not exactly because of that issue. There are also many cyclists, joggers and walkers whose safety is improved because of this pathway. While I agree that there are other areas in Northville that should have sidewalks for pedestrians (i.e., 6 mile b/w Northville Road and Sheldon) or 7 mile b/w Northville Road and Sheldon), this is a start and a beautiful one at that!