Advocacy everywhere

I went down to city hall last evening to put in my pennies worth of opinion about a new trail project.

It's not really a new project, it is the final piece of multi-city project of interconnected trailways.

This piece promised to be the most difficult and expensive piece of the puzzle.

The trail connects another trail system in the south part of town, to the downtown area in Kalamazoo.

Since it covers 4.5 miles in the center of the city traveling through residential and industrial areas alike it was expected to be an enormously difficult project.

Amazingly the price and logistics are surpisingly simple.

I was amazed that, in searching through the maps of each segment,

very few private properties are affected and the right of way doesn't encroach on any

residential properties.  The trail is built to follow the Portage creek as it meanders through town,

consequently few properties will be directly affected.  It will provide a viable and seperate commuter route from the southern most area of the county all the way into the center of the downtown business district where it will connect with the existing trail system linking Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and South Haven on the lakeshore.

I am pleased to see that the city managers have seen fit to pursue this project and since the entire

thing carries the meager price tag of 3.8 million, I gave them my approval to begin construction.