Mayor to cut ribbon at Northfield park Sept. 25
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
NORTHFIELD — The city has created a system of bicycle trails at Birch Grove Park and plans to hold an official opening ceremony during the Bike Rodeo scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 25, at the park.
Mayor Erland Chau will lead a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.
According to Deputy City Clerk Shannon Campbell, she, Superintendent of Public Works Qwin Vitale, city engineer Rami Nassar, Clerk Mary Canesi and Councilman Greg Dewees walked the trails and mapped out the ones they felt would be best suited for bicycles.
Afterward, city Risk Control Consultant Bob Holwitt walked the trails to help determine the level of safety and where signage would be most appropriate.
“City Council began discussing the idea of bike trails in the park in 2018 after receiving a request from a local resident,” Campbell said. “We walked several of the trails at the park and decided ones toward the back of the park would be best suited as they were not as heavily traveled by pedestrians as the rest of the park. We felt it was best to allow bikes only in certain areas as not to disturb the people who walk the trails each day.”
The city created a map of the trail system, naming the trails for trees found in the park at the suggestion of Councilwoman Barbara Madden.
Campbell said Birch and Evergreen are fire-access roads traveled by park vehicles, police and public works. For perspective, Birch is the route used for seasonal hayrides. All of the names are also all streets in the city.
She said the inner trails, Maple, Oak and Pine, have colored reflectors at the suggestion of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, in case someone gets lost and needs to call for help.
“The Police Department or a friend can locate them by the color of the reflector if they do not know which trail they entered,” Campbell said, noting Maple is yellow, Oak is white and Pine is red.
“Maple and Pine are designated for bikes only as they are the most difficult trails and have a few areas that are not as wide as the other trails,” Campbell said. “They also have markers stating ‘Difficult Trail.’”
There are about 8,200 feet of marked bike trails, a little more than 1.5 miles, while there are about 10 miles of walking trails. The big loop is about a mile long, Campbell said.
Campbell said the trails are a bit rugged, meant more for mountain bikes and BMX than beach cruisers. She said the shared trails are a little easier to traverse but that the idea is to keep the bicyclists in the back and walkers in the front of the park.
The city has erected three maps noting the bike trails and safe riding tips: one at the entrance behind the baseball field, one by the entrance near the bocce ball courts and one farther back by the entrance of Maple Trail.
Campbell said all of the trails were established so most of the work involved trimming branches and filling in some low spots with dirt.
“No trees were removed for any of the bike trails,” she said.
The final map was presented to City Council on Nov. 12, 2019, and the governing body anticipated having a grand opening in spring 2020. However, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed.
“It took us a couple of years to come to fruition but I’m glad it did,” Campbell said. “This was a group effort and we are all pleased with the outcome and the amount of people that are enjoying the trails every day.”