Washtenaw County awards $600,000 in trail grants to four communities

In four Washtenaw County communities, projects intended to help people get places will soon be really getting somewhere. Ann Arbor, Dexter, Pittsfield Twp. and Ypsilanti Twp. will each receive a portion of the $600,000 awarded this month by Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission. 

 

The awards were a part of the Connecting Communities Initiative, a five-year program intended to invest in the County's non-motorized trail systems. 

 

"Every once in awhile we'll update our parks and recreation master plan for the county, which includes doing a survey to the public," says Coy Vaugh, deputy director of the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission. "Trails are always number one on the list. 

 

This program allows local municipalities to create connections between trails maintained by the County and key points in their communities. 

 

Now in its fourth year, Connecting Communities has supported such projects as the trail connecting Whitmore Lake Elementary School to surrounding residential neighborhoods in Northfield Twp. and a 950-foot Chelsea trail along Old US-12 connecting the boardwalk system at Pierce Lake Golf Course with neighborhoods and schools.

 

Of the total $600,000 grant, Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Twp. each received $150,000. Dexter received $225,000 and Ypsilanti Twp. received $75,000. The communities were required to match the funds, which are earmarked for construction only, with the cost of engineering the projects. Eight projects in six communities vied for the funding this year.