Brandon Twp.- A few dozen proponents of trails were present at the township board’s Aug. 3 meeting, many of whom voiced their support for a trail segment that would connect the township to the Iron Belle Trail.
Ron Sutton, a member of the Blackhawk Community Trail Committee, was the first resident to speak at the meeting, and he informed the board that as of July 30, the committee had gathered 931 petition signatures in favor of trail development in Brandon and Groveland townships, as well as the Village of Ortonville. Of the signatures, 569 came from residents of Brandon and Groveland, while the remainder were from surrounding communities.
‘We are really in favor of trails and with the support of governing bodies we can make this happen,? said Sutton.
Jennifer Mannino was among several others who also voiced their support.
‘I’m within two houses of where the trail would be and I’m in support of the trail,? she said. ‘This is a dream I’ve dreamed of for a long time.?
The township recently learned it was approved for a $14,800 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, one of several communities approved for funds related to the Iron Belle project.
The Iron Belle Trail has two proposed routes, one for bicycling, and one for hiking, both of which have start or end points at Belle Isle (Detroit) and Ironwood (in the Upper Peninsula). The bicycling trail, which will be 774 miles from beginning to end, is slated to go through communities including Brandon, Groveland, and Atlas townships, as well as the Village of Ortonville. The hiking trail takes a route to the west and is 1,259 miles.
The township will use the DNR grant money to evaluate possible routes to connect with other participating communities. In Brandon Township, the trail will extend about 5 miles, entering the township on the old inner urban railroad line, south of Granger Road at Baldwin, and entering the village at Kent Road.
The trail corridor in the township is owned by ITC, which has an easement for power lines. Part of the study that the township hopes to have paid for through the grant would analyze whether it would be better to stay on the corridor or near the corridor.
The Village of Ortonville will include one mile of trail. Thurman said the Groveland section of trail is about one mile as well, and in Atlas Township, there will be 7 miles of the Iron Belle Trail.
Once trails in this area are completed, they would link to existing trails such as the Polly Ann Trail and Paint Creek Trail. Going north, the trail will go through Grand Blanc, Davison, and Columbiaville.
The trail will be 10-feet wide to meet design standards and will be paved or limestone and used for runners and walkers as well as bicyclists.
Kristen Wiltfang, Oakland County senior planner for economic development and community affairs, gave a presentation on non-motorized opportunities at the Aug. 3 township board meeting during which she noted that at the website walkscore.org, the Village of Ortonville gets a walk score of 41 out of 100, while Brandon Township gets a score of only 1, meaning it is nearly entirely car-dependent. The site evaluates walking opportunities between homes and businesses, schools, and more.
Wiltfang discussed the health benefits of trails, and options for developing trails in the township, including parklands, utility corridors, abandoned railroad rights of way, drainage corridors and road corridors.
These various options will bear more scrutiny as trails have been proposed in the past in the township along the ITC corridor and met with opposition from property owners along the route.
‘We had easement issues a few years ago,? said Trustee Ron Lapp. ‘We spent a lot of money looking at the urban railway and had problems with the easement. It became a real contentious issue. We thought it was a great idea and boy, were we wrong.?
Still, he called the new Iron Belle Trail ‘exciting stuff, no doubt about it.?
And Lapp joined the rest of the board in a unanimous vote to approve an Oakland County trail planning workshop for the township.
A date has not been set yet for the first workshop, as Supervisor Kathy Thurman said there would first be an organizational meeting.
‘I’m very pleased that we are able to take steps forward to get things in place that will allow us to be more likely to receive grant funding,? said Thurman. ‘We will host a public meeting to solicit input which we will coordinate with the county, and HRC (Hubbell, Roth and Clark) which is the township’s engineers will give a report at the conclusion of their evaluation. Community support for trails does influence the board. Public support plays heavily into our decisions, but we also have to consider any hardships it may involve. Workshops are to understand all aspects, both the negative and the positive.?
Wiltfang said the workshops will help prioritize routes and key destinations for multiple trails, not just the Iron Belle, though that will be a focus.
‘We can create a plan that can be incorporated into the recreation master plan that will help with grant applications in the future,? she said. ‘We will look at maps, have a presentation on the benefits of trails, will talk about maintenance and long-term development of the trails and key destinations and how do we best connect with non-motorized pathways. Funding is always an issue, as are road rights of way (obtaining easements from property owners)… Hopefully we can accomplish the workshops this fall, finalize reports over the winter and then evaluate if the township is ready to apply for grants to help develop the Iron Belle Trail or other pathways in the spring.?