As spring approaches, Rochester and Rochester Hills have hopes of adding a new outdoor project to it’s to-do list.
One trail, five cities
Last week, the Rochester City Council approved submitting an application to the state in search of grant funding to upgrade the Clinton River Trail.
If approved, the trail that runs through five communities will have fresh signage identifying each portion of the route as well as new amenities like benches and trash receptacles put in place for summer 2014.
“We’re pretty excited about being able to make that (grant) application,” Jaymes Vettraino, Rochester city manager said. “We hope that it gets funded.”
The main goal for the project, dubbed “Look and Feel,” is to alert trail users that they are passing into a new city with unique signage for each community while maintaining an overall unifying theme.
Riders and walkers alike will know which community they are in but the entire trail will have the same “look and feel,” Vettraino shared, hence the slogan for the project.
Some of the trail amenities deemed desirable for the possible project also includes information kiosks, map boxes, mile markers, monument signs and a welcoming trail gateway.
Crunching numbers
The price tag for the Rochester portion of the project alone is $209,000. The City would have to pay 25 percent of this cost, or roughly $52,000. The request for grant funding would cover the rest, Vettraino said.
A design for the proposed trail gateway from Friends of the Clinton River Trail.
Trail partners in both Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills are also pursuing funding.
If the city does not receive grant funding from the state, the project will be pushed back for a later date.
“We would go back with the Friends of the Clinton River and review the application again,” Vettraino said, “the city is not intending to fund the full program at this point, without grant funding.
“Of course we could make new allocations in the future but at this point, the project is approved if grant funding is provided.”
An exact deadline for learning of the grant funding approval—or denial—is uncertain but Vettraino expects it will be later this season.
If approved, the earliest the plans would come to fruition is late 2013.
The plans for information kiosks, map boxes, mile markers and monument sign in the proposed Clinton River Trail upgrade project named “Look and Feel.”
“We’re excited that spring is almost here,” Vettraino said. “We’re getting the parks ready for people to enjoy them.”
The trail upgrades were presented to Rochester City Council members by Friends of the Clinton River Trail.
An all-volunteer group, Friends of the Clinton River Trail is “committed to promoting the trail as a safe and enjoyable recreational destination,” according to their presentation.
Members of Friends of the Clinton River Trail could not be reached for comment or input.
For more information on the proposed trail upgrades, be sure to visit www.clintonrivertrail.org.
About Jen Bucciarelli