Overview
- One of the county’s most prominent projects is the Border-to-Border Trail. Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation CommissionWCPARCSince its inception in late 1990s, ), has been the leader of the multi-agency effort to create the Border to Border Trail (B2B Trail). (Source: *directly quoted* https://www.washtenaw.org/334/Border-to-Border-Trail)
- WCPARC has completed 36 miles of the 54 miles of trails in the county. Peter Sanderson is the principal park planner for Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation. He says that the remaining segments are the most difficult to build.
- 3 miles were constructed last year (projects in Ypsilanti City of Ann Arbor and Lima Township, between Dexter and Chelsea). In 2022, three miles of construction are planned:
- Chelsea and M52 [2 projects]
- Dexter-Chelsea extension
- East of Dexter, Zeeb Road to Delhi Metropark (completes connection between all Metroparks within the county).
- Planning and engineering are also being done on several projects, including the Barton-Bandemer Underpass, in the City of Ann Arbor, to build a tunnel underneath the railroad to connect Huron River Drive with Bandemer Park to the northwest.
- Regional partners and the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative will work together to complete connections in Jackson and Ingham Counties as part the State Iron Belle Trail. To better gage use of the non-motorized routes, more permanent bike/ped counters are being placed to analyze and quantify trail use.
- Peter Sanderson explains that the B2B supports Countys Climate Action plan (under construction) and Ann Arbors adopted Carbon Neutrality plan (under construction).A2 Zero). These are the main reasons:
- The goal is to link Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Dexter, Chelsea and the non-motorized trail, providing a safe way to connect people and destinations
- As part of the wider nonmotorized infrastructure network, creates a spine for a nonmotorized transport corridor
- The B2B is a key location. These include Michigan Medicine, UM North & Central Campus. St. Joes Health Systems. Concordia College. WCC Campus. EMU Campus. And central business districts in many cities.
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU. It’s getting to the point where more people are outside for exercise and leisure. I’m David Fair. I welcome you to Issues of the Environment. We’re going to be taking a look at the Border to Border Trail, Washtenaw County. The initiative was started in the late 90s and continues to connect communities. Work is still ongoing to make it complete. Peter Sanderson is our guest this week. Peter Sanderson is the principal park planner at the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Department. He has been leading the multi-agency Border to Border Trail Project since its inception. Peter, thank you so much.
Peter Sanderson: Oh, you’re welcome. Thank you for having us.
David Fair: Do you enjoy biking or walking along the trail?
Peter Sanderson: Oh, absolutely. I use the trail regularly. I am a runner/cyclist, so my local section, the Gallup park Trail in Ann Arbor.
David Fair: Are you a winter person or not? Are you still able to go out in winter? I hibernate, and people make fun at me for it. However, there are others like me out there.
Peter Sanderson: Oh, I try to get outside as much as I can. Sometimes the Michigan weather is just a bit too much, however.
David Fair: I agree with you. Peter says that the longer a trail is, the more activity it creates, the more people will use it. This all contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gases. It is a significant contributor to Washtenaw County becoming carbon neutral by 2035.
Peter Sanderson: We believe it will. We don’t have any data on this, but we’re working with WATS–the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study – to install pedestrian and bicycle counters throughout the county. This will allow us to quantify trail usage and analyze trends. It is used for recreation or commute. There are currently only two permanent counters installed in the Dexter vicinity. The use is rising, especially with 2020. Our numbers are showing. We had approximately 277,000 passes by sensors in Dexter in 2018, you know. In 2020, it was 424,000. This is a significant increase in just two years.
David Fair:WEMU’s Issues of the Environment conversation is continuing with Peter Sanderson, Washtenaw County Parks and Rec Planner. 36 miles of the Border-to-Border trail have been completed. Plans are for at least 18 additional. Three more miles were added to the Border to Border trail last year. Did pandemics slow down the work in 2021 or was that the plan?
Peter Sanderson: I think we’ve been making progress steadily, which is our goal. We want to keep moving forward. These projects can take many years to go from planning through engineering and permitting to construction. Our historical average was about one mile per annum, so three miles per annum is a significant increase. This is partly due to the millage that was passed in 2016 and 2020 by Washtenaw County voters to help with roads, trails, and our partners at Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative. They are a non-profit group that has been doing significant fundraising to help build the trail.
David Fair:If I remember correctly, the project included projects in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti last year. What did this add to the overall community connectivity through the trail?
Peter Sanderson: The one in Chelsea is a major connection to the city. It connects into almost five miles of trail that has been built since 2018, which closes the gap to connect to the downtown. Now, we are working with the City to put up signs and route maps to connect the trail through Central Business District and to Lima Township. This trail enters into the city via Freer Road on the East Side. That’s a huge improvement in connectivity. Ann Arbor is the other place that made a significant impact. In partnership with Gallup Park, we rebuilt a mile of trail. It was an old section. It was probably built in the 1980s. It greatly increased the trail’s capacity. We increased its width from eight feet to ten feet. And we used concrete as an alternative to asphalt. This will increase its durability and reduce maintenance costs.
David Fair: This year, there are still three miles of construction plans. Where will the projects take place?
Peter Sanderson: We plan to extend the trail about a mile along M52 in the northwest corner of the county, Lyndon Township. The project we worked on last year to connect into Chelsea is now complete. Then, we plan to extend the northern part of that. This will make that a seven-mile section of trail north of Chelsea that connects with the city. The Green Lake campground, which operates by the DNR and the DTE Energy Foundation, is a part of the DTE Energy Foundation’s mountain bike trail system. It’s located in Lyndon Township. Another one is that we plan to expand some of our work just west Dexter in Lima Township, where we’re trying to connect the cities Dexter and Chelsea. Although it is not yet connected to either of these cities, it will in the coming years. Scio Township is another important piece of construction that should start this year. We plan to begin construction this summer on a section that starts at Zeeb Road, Huron River Drive, and connects to Delhi Metropark. This project will connect all three Washtenaw County metroparks to the Border to Border Trail, which runs right in the middle of Dexter.
David Fair: The more we talk, the more ambitious these plans and projects become. Did you ever plan out the 56-mile route?
Peter Sanderson: Although I don’t yet have a date, we are making progress and trying to keep it going. We want to be done by the 2020s. But, it’s better to get there sooner than later. There’s a lot happening right now regarding priorities at the local, state and federal levels. This is opening up grants funding opportunities. We hope to keep going. We have all the pieces in place and the planning work is complete. Now it’s time to work through the legal side. This includes regulatory compliance, environmental permitting, and other legal requirements as we build the trail sections. The permitting process for a single project can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months.
David Fair: This is Issues of the Environment, again on WEMU. Peter Sanderson, Washtenaw County Parks and Rec principal Park Planner, is talking to us about the Border to Border trail. We have seen the prices of everything in this year’s rise, including fuel. Is it possible that fuel costs are limiting your ability to accomplish as many tasks as you want during this construction season?
Peter Sanderson: We hope not. We haven’t yet received our construction bids for this season, although we have definitely included a contingency in the project budgets. One big project should be receiving bids in May or Juni. So, we’ll wait and see what those numbers are. We’ve used bid alternatives to try to mitigate this. This is why the Gallup Park Trail as well as some of our projects in Chelsea, Dexter, are now made of concrete instead of asphalt. We have been using a bid alternative, which compares the prices of the different materials. Concrete has been cheaper and more durable in the long term. This has not been historically true, but it is now. This is one way we try to keep our projects on-budget and on-track.
David Fair: The county Border to Border trail was created to connect to routes that will better connect large parts of the state. Do I have that right?
Peter Sanderson: That’s right. It is part the statewide Iron Belt Trail Initiative. This project aims to create a strong regional connection in Southeast Michigan by connecting Wayne County with Jackson and Ingham Counties.
David Fair: Peter, this is clearly a passion project. What do the Border to Border Trails mean to you today? And what do you envision it becoming in the future?
Peter Sanderson: That’s a great question. What I love most about it is the variety of uses. It’s a great way to get everyone involved, from runners to kids on their balance bikes to people in wheelchairs who want to see places and enjoy nature. I love to see the community use the trail. That is what I hope will continue. It would be great to make it a more convenient commuter route, especially as we work on some of the sections. Some of our largest employers in the area include the University of Michigan campuses, the hospital and Washtenaw community college, EMU, St. Joe’s Hospital, Concordia College, and the hospital. This is a large portion of the county’s workforce. So, I believe there are opportunities to use this route as a safe way to commute and that it will help the county achieve some of its carbon neutrality goals for the future.
David Fair: Peter, I would like to thank for your time and insight today. I appreciate it.
Peter Sanderson: I’m grateful for your time.
David Fair: Peter Sanderson, principal park planner for Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation. David Fair is my name. This is 89 One WEMU FM and HD Two Ypsilanti.
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