WMTGC Announces Railbanking Agreement
March, 2008
Since May 2007, a Community Action Committee has been meeting monthly to reach the vision and goal to acquire the 37.5-mile railroad corridor from Greenville to Ionia.
The West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition completed the 37-mile railbanking agreement of an abandoned rail line that runs through Ionia, Lowell, and Greenville and features several beautiful river crossings, pastoral and wooded settings.
The agreement and a small filing fee basically reserves the rail line for future trail development. Work has already begun with city and county representatives to develop plans to purchase, develop and maintain the line. Letters of support have been received from:
- Cities: Belding, Lowell, Ionia
- Villages: Saranac
- Townships: Grattan, Vergennes, Lowell, Easton
- County Parks: Ionia, Kent
- Others organizations: Lowell Chamber and LARA
In a recent update, ‘This project has progressed through the Appraisal to a Memorandum of understanding to acquire and purchase the property thru the railbanking process with the Surface Transportation Board in Washington, DC. This preserves the corridor for perpetuity. The Meijer Foundation has agreed to assist with the down payment on the property.’
Carolyn Kane, executive board member with the West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition, said, “It really matched nicely with The Coalition’s charter to facilitate the acquisition and development of trails with donors, government agencies, and local trail organizations.”
Visit us regularly at www.wmtrails.org for updates on this exciting initiative. Or, sign up to receive future updates automatically at www.wmtrails.org/friends. |
