By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
Orion Township has its own piece of a very unique pie in the name of recreation and safety.
The long awaited Iron Belle Trail, which connects Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula to Belle Isle State Park in Detroit, has the Paint Creek and Polly Ann Trail incorporated into its biking path as it passes through Oakland County.
The issue facing Orion Township is there are no connectors between the two trails.
Initially the route being examined was along Indianwood Road but wetlands and property type would’ve been too costly of a project.
‘We’ve always been focused to go down Indianwood but we’d have to buy one or two houses to make the connector, plus building on that type of wetland made that route cost prohibitive,? said township Supervisor Chris Barnett
The solution to join both trails is to continue an already existing safety path on West Clarkston Road. The safety path currently ends at Pine Tree Road and the plan is to have it extended west to where the Polly Ann Trail intersects with Clarkston Road.
In an effort to help offset the cost of the $1.8 million dollar project, the township and OHM are seeking a grant made possible by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant. The project will be done in two phases, allowing the township to apply for the grant twice.
‘Deadline is April 1 and the Township is applying for $300,000 which is the maximum amount available,? said township engineer Jessica Katers. ‘If awarded, those grant dollars would be available in 2016 and will be used for phase one.?
Phase one will consist of extending the safety path to camp Agawam on the north side of Clarkston Road. Phase two will take it the rest of the way from Agawam to the Polly Ann intersection near Rhodes Road. Portions of both phases will consist of paved safety path and 14-foot wide boardwalks near Tommy’s Lake and Elkhorn Lake.
‘The safety benefit will be realized with the ability to get pedestrians off Clarkston Road and onto a facility that’s for them,? Katers said. ‘This also gives pedestrians access to Camp Agawam which currently doesn’t have any facilities that go directly to the camp.?
Each phase will take about 3-4 months to complete and will be just under a mile in length. The grant will be decided at the end of each year and if the township gets both grants the project will be completed in the summer of 2017.
Originally, the plan was for the township and Lake Orion School District to both apply for the grant allowing the safety path to be fully extended in the summer of 2016. Due to provisions from the Michigan DNR, the school is not eligible to apply because they are not the main source of recreation within the community.
First proposed as a ‘showcase trail? by Gov. Rick Snyder in November 2012, Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail will stretch across Michigan and link numerous existing trails to provide both a 1,259-mile hiking route and a 774-mile bicycling route.
‘The Iron Belle Trail will ultimately connect communities, provide a variety of recreation opportunities, and showcase our great state to residents and visitors alike,? said DNR Director Keith Creagh. ‘The hard work and thoughtful vision that have for years gone into Michigan’s existing trail system and future connectors help to lay the groundwork for completion of this important cross-state trail.?
The hiking portion follows the existing North Country National Scenic Trail for most of its length in Michigan (1,085 of 1,259 miles). North Country Trail extends from the New York/Vermont border east to central North Dakota. Spanning 4,600 miles, it is the longest National Scenic Trail in the nation.
‘It’s all about quality of life and we’re reinvesting back into the community,? Barnett said. ‘People can enjoy it. They can enjoy being outside and getting to these trails safely.?