The Algonquin Township Plan Commission this summer will look at building a bike path adjacent to U.S. Highway 14 from Fox River Grove to McHenry County College.
Algonquin Township Supervisor Patricia F. Floeter said the path, which scored high on a survey of residents last year, would cross Algonquin, Grafton and Dorr Townships.
The cost is one of the things officials have yet to determine, but federal and state funding is available.
One idea is to connect the Illinois Prairie Path at Main Street in Crystal Lake. Another would divert the path to the south along Three Oaks Road and hook up with the bike trail there.
To cross the Fox River, officials have discussed either adding to the bridge on U.S. 14 or building a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians.
“People want to see the trails connected,” said Jane Franz, chairwoman of the advisory panel. “According to the survey, it’s a high priority. We want to determine if this project can be done and then approach the municipalities involved with a firm proposal.”
The matter will be discussed at the Plan Commission meeting on April 24.
Steve Gulgren, planning and development manager for the McHenry County Conservation District, which maintains the Prairie Path through the county, said the district considered a plan similar to Algonquin Township’s several years ago.
“But our plan was to run the bike path along the railroad tracks, on the Chicago & North Western easement and it turned out the railroad didn’t like the idea,” he said. “The tracks, though, now belong to the Union Pacific Railroad.”
The 26 miles of Prairie Path in the county run from the Wisconsin line, through Crystal Lake, to Kane County.
Gulgren said that this summer the Conservation District will look at building a bike path along the ComEd power-line easement from Crystal Lake to Woodstock.
