A bicyclist uses a Madison County Transit motorcycle trail on Alton’s more sensitive boardwalk. The trail is one of nine interconnected trails in Madison County, spanning 137 miles in total.
A bicyclist uses a Madison County Transit motorcycle trail on Alton’s more sensitive boardwalk. The trail is one of nine interconnected trails in Madison County, spanning 137 miles in total.
A bicyclist uses a Madison County Transit motorcycle trail on Alton’s more sensitive boardwalk. The trail is one of nine interconnected trails in Madison County, spanning 137 miles in total.
A bicyclist uses a Madison County Transit motorcycle trail on Alton’s more sensitive boardwalk. The trail is one of nine interconnected trails in Madison County, spanning 137 miles in total.
PONTOON BEACH – Whether it’s getting out into nature, exercising, or even commuting to work, the citizens of Madison County have one main merit: an interconnected trail formula that took nearly 30 years and $ 40 million to build.
“MCT Trails makes Madison County unique to the region, if not the Midwest,” said Madison County Transit District General Manager SJ Morrison. “It is one of the few interconnected Class 1 cycling networks, which means that it is separated from the road.
He said it only provides added security, but also aesthetic value.
“What you do on a motorcycle is a semi-final whistle on the road aspect,” Morrison said. “You are necessarily crossing a linear park. Because they are connected, it goes through a series of loops. “
The MCT Trail formula includes nine giant trails spanning 137 miles, ranging from trails through ancient forests and unheard-of Mississippi River perspectives to urban trails connecting parks to areas.
And it’s not finished growing, Morrison said, many of the paintings will be smaller “connectors” that will bring in a combination of neighborhoods, parks, schools and business districts.
The most recent assignment is an 850 foot connecting sidewalk along Troy-O’Fallon Road from the MCT Troy Park & Ride lot in the US to Turtle Creek in Troy.
Hit the trails
• Bluff Trail – Two mile paved trail. From New Poag Road in Edwardsville, parallel to Stadium Drive on the SIUE campus, the trail follows the former Great American Bottoms cliff line on the SIUE campus, past the prairie recovery spaces and college sports. Points of interest include a historic log cabin, Whiteside Cemetery, SIUE Korte Stadium, cricket ground, Simmons Cooper Stadium, and other sports fields. Trail connections come to SIUE Delyte W. Morris Trail, MCT Nature Trail, five-mile road connector to MCT Confluence Trail
• Confluence Trail: 20.5 miles of asphalt / oil and chips. From Russell Commons Park in Alton to 20th Street in Granite City, along the Mississippi River and the Chain of Rocks Canal. The trail offers stunning perspectives of the Mississippi River, Clark Bridge, and a 900-foot bridge over Wood River Creek that offers trail enthusiasts some of the most productive scenery in Riverbend. Points of interest include the Great Rivers National Museum, Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Downtown Alton, Clark Bridge, Great Rivers National Research and Education Center. Trail accessories come with a 3-mile extension of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge to join the Riverfront Trail in St. Louis; McKinley Bridge Motorcycle Trail to join the south edge of the Riverfront Trail; New Poag Road, a 5.5-mile highway attachment to MCT Bluff Trail. However, the southern portion of the trail is closed lately to allow for reconstruction of the Merchant’s Bridge in Madison. You can park at Russell Commons Park, National Great River’s Museum (Alton); Eastgate Plaza (East Alton); Lewis & Clark Interpretation Center (Hartford); Old Chain of Rocks Bridge (Illinois side)
• Goshen Trail – 19.5 mile asphalt trail. From Kyle Rd. To O’Fallon (St. Clair County) through Troy, Maryville, Glen Carbon and Edwardsville to Wanda Road in South Roxana. Connecting six trails and two counties that provide access to the neighborhoods of central Madison County and northern St. Clair County, this trail has 10 tunnels and 8 bridges, allowing trail users to travel easily. safe. Trail connections come with MCT Schoolhouse Trail, MCT Ronald J. Foster Heritage Trail, MCT Nature Trail, MCT Nickel Plate Trail, MCT Watershed Trail, Wanda Road, and New Poag Road, an 8 mile fiveArray to MCT Confluence Trail; or a 3.7 mile highway connector to MCT Bluff Trail. You can park on Kyle Road (O’Fallon), Old Troy Rd. On State Route 162 (Troy) and Russell Drive (South Roxana).
Nature path: 15-mile asphalt. From Illinois State Route 159 to Edwardsville, after SIUE to Wilson Park in Granite City. Expect to see rabbits, turkeys and deer on this busy wooded trail that runs through streams and connects neighborhoods, schools and parks. Points of interest come with Edwardsville High School, University Park, SIUE, Horseshoe Lake State Park and Wilson Park. Trail connections come with MCT Schoolhouse Trail, MCT Bluff Trail, MCT Nickel Plate Trail, MCT Goshen Trail, SIUE Trails and Campuses and Granite City Wilson Park Trails. You can park on Longfellow and Nelson Avenues during Edwardsville High School (Edwardsville) non-school hours; Bicycle park and park in Revelle Lane (Pontoon Beach); and Wilson Park (Granite City).
Nickel Plate Path: 28.5 mile asphalt/limestone trail. From S. Main Street to New Douglas to Old Edwardsville Road to Pontoon Beach, the trail is a mix of wood and farmland, with access to parks, neighborhoods and historic neighborhoods of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. Points of Interest Include Edwardsville Township Park, Glen Carbon Miner Park, LCCC N.O. Nelson Campus, Edwardsville Children’s Museum, Alhambra Firefighter and Legion Park. The trail connections are on MCT Nature Trail, MCT Quercus Grove Trail, MCT Ronald J. Foster Heritage Trail, motorcycle trails in The Edwardsville Field (Hazel Road, Maple Road, Columbia Road, Jerusalem Road, Spangle Road). You can park on Longfellow Road and on Illinois State Route 159, Lewis and Clark Community College N.O. Nelson Campus, Longfellow Avenues and Nelson, County Highway Building (Edwardsville); Miner Park and Glen Carbon Park – Ride Lot at Illinois State Route 157.
Quercus Grove Trail: 18.9 mile asphalt/limestone trail. Located on Schwarz and Springer streets in Edwardsville through the Edwardsville countryside to Hamel, Worden and Staunton (Worden); Watertower Park (Staunton), the trail connects the shops, cafes and government center of historic downtown Edwardsville with miles of fields and the communities of Hamel, Worden and Staunton. Connections to the trail come with the MCT nickel plate; motorcycle lanes in rural Edwardsville (Fruit Road, Blackburn Road, Staunton Road). You can park at MCT Park and Ride in Hillsboro, Old Carpenter Road (Edwardsville); Hamel Community Park (Hamel); Worden Park (Worden); and Watertower Park (Staunton).
Ronald J. Foster Heritage Trail – Trail 12.2 asphalt. Located on Main Street, near Glen Carbon Centennial Library and Marine Village Park, it is connected to Glen Carbon Parks and GreenSpaces, Madison Rural County and Marine Village Park. The links to the trail come with MCT Goshen Trail and MCT Nickel Plate Trail. You can park at Daenzer Drive (Glen Carbon); Marine Village Park (marine).
• School trail: 15.5 mile asphalt trail. It runs from Illinois State Route 162 / Old Troy Road to Troy and Harrison Street in Madison. The trail comes with old sprawling forests, fields, Collinsville neighborhoods, and Horseshoe Lake State Park offers a wide diversity of scenic views. Points of interest include Horseshoe Lake State Park, Metro East Park and Recreation District Office and Rest Stop, a 1-mile connector by road to Gateway Center and Splash City Water Park, and Drost Park. Trail connections come to the MCT Nature Trail, MCT Goshen Trail, and Horseshoe Lake State Park Trails. You can park at Horseshoe Lake State Park (Pontoon Beach), Gateway Center, MEPRD (Collinsville), Drost Park, and Park & Bike Lot on Illinois State Route 162 (Maryville).
• Watershed Trail – 1.3 mile asphalt trail. Located on W. Union in Edwardsville, intersects with MCT Goshen Trail. It is located in the oldest train direction in Edwardsville and passes the Watershed Nature Center. Connections to the trail come to Second Street, a 0.2 mile highway connector to the Madison County Courthouse and the Edwardsville MCT station. You can park at the Watershed Nature Center on Terry Avenue (Edwardsville); many on the corner of Second and High streets in Edwardsville.
Source: Madison County Transit
The $176,520 project provides safe bicycle and pedestrian access from Turtle Creek, a subdivision of more than 350 homes, to the Park & Ride lot and downtown Troy. The Park & Ride lot is also connected to a .6-mile bike trail from U.S. 40 to Spring Valley Road. And in the near future, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources grant will allow that trail to be extended 4,300 feet to Formosa Road.
Light rail corridors, and bike trails too
MCT’s trail system got its start in the early 1990s when then-Managing Director Jerry Kane, who stepped down in December, began assembling abandoned rail corridors in Madison County.
At the time, MetroLink was just beginning and the soft train formula was expected to eventually succeed in Madison County. Because of the importance of the railroads for the progression of Madison County, many railroad corridors had to be considered.
“That’s one of the goals: to keep those transportation corridors,” Morrison said. “In most of the country, when the rail corridors were abandoned, they were sold to adjacent owners.”
But there is also some other component to the plan: the progression of bike and pedestrian paths.
“Jerry Kane is a visionary, he goes into those rail connections,” said Cindy Mense, executive director of Trailnet, a St. Louis-based trail advocacy group.
However, there is a problem; Under existing law, transit districts like MCT may not have bike lanes. Morrison said MCT was concerned about converting the law and that the Local Transit Act of 1993 allowed districts like MCT to get into the trail business.
“Once MCT approved to do so, we began the acquisition,” Morrison said.
Around the same time, a number of investment resources began to open, ranging from local and state grants to federal investments.
Morrison said one of the resources is a series of $ 200,000 matching grants from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
“We were coming in and MCT was getting a lot of grants,” Morrison said. “So much so that they implemented the Madison County Transit rule – that a single entity can only get two consistent grants per year.”
Another big push came in 2000 when the Metro East Parks and Recreation District (MEPRD) was formed with a project to expand an interconnected formula of motorcycle trails and parks, primarily in Madison and St. Clair counties. At the time, the MCT formula included approximately 75 miles of trails.
“We were very lucky,” Kane said at the time. “The time for some things came at the same time, and we were at the forefront of many communities.”
Morrison said the transit district was able to use its local budget to leverage other local and federal budgets to the point that they were able to invest about $ 40 million in the system.
Switch to smaller projects as there are few left to do
Most of today’s trails get bigger than 15 to 28 miles. But the district now has much smaller connectors, in components because there are few options for putting longer trails.
“MCT largely built the formula on our existing rail corridors,” Morrison said. “We lack rail corridors to build.
“What we’re doing is partnering with municipalities to take this framework that built it and enlarge it in neighborhoods, parks, universities and colleges, as well as advertising areas,” he said. “People need to use motorcycle lanes to get to those other destinations,” he says.
They have a number of planned:
• Extension of the Schoolhouse Trail to Pleasant Ridge Park in Maryville for a fee of $ 370,000. The assignment includes a three hundred foot trail connection to the park.
The 4,300-foot extension of Formosa Drive at $400,000.
• Paving Nickle Plat Trail from Madison County Truck Garage to Peradotti Lane in rural Edwardsville. The estimated charge is $ 400,000. The moment phase comes to the paving of the trail from Peradotti Lane to Blackburn at a charge of $ 600,000.
All those projects are in design and ready to bid.
MCT is running on formosa West Trail 1.5 miles in Collinsville.
The allocation amount is expected to be approximately $2.5 million, funded through MEPRD.
“That we are once again a former railway corridor, ” said Morrison. “Thirteen packages, and we already have part of them.”
MCT also has an “orientation” mapping that includes trail signage. The task is to identify all intersections in the MCT Trail and then place position signs at intersections. Additional signage would be placed in communities to direct the public to MCT trails, followed by mileage markers and interpretive symptoms along the trails.
“To some, this would possibly seem like an exaggeration,” Morrison said. “You’ll be surprised.”
He noted that mileage markers are also an additional protection feature. These will be checkpoints on the trail itself, such as “G15” for mile 15 of the Goshen Trail.
“This mile marker is unique to this place,” he says. “There’s one.”
Beauty of the building
MCT’s board also has beautification projects, he said.
“The trails are already beautiful, however we have some very visual spaces on the highway that are also busy rail corridors,” Morrison said.
The council lately has five separate assignments on The Schoolhouse Trail, Plum Street Junction in Edwardsville, Nature Trail at Pontoon Beach and Victory and Costello in Granite City; and the Nickle Plate Trail near Illinois 162 at Glen Carbon. The Schoolhouse Trail assignment would likely come with the deciduous tree plantation between Illinois 157 and Interstate 255.
“What if we plant a hundred trees in this hall, of hard wood?” Morrison said. “I’d have this autumn-colored room. It may be an emblematic piece of the trail.
The Plum Street Junction project, where several trails are found, can come with “spring plantations” with blossoming trees, Morrison said.
“There are many ideas,” he says. “We’re going to go through to start on those five shots and go from there.”
Unfunded dreams
MCT also has a number of unfunded plans waiting for grant approval.
This includes the elevation component of the Confluence Trail in Alton, which has a low point near the Great Rivers Research Center. Morrison said it tended to flood and they sought to point upward. The charge is estimated at about $ 330,000.
They also need to rebuild the Pontoon Beach Nature Trial component, which runs under I-255 near Illinois 162. The charge has been estimated at $ 330,000.
The community is also seeking a 4,200-foot trail between Emerson Avenue and Irma Avenue in the Leclaire community of Edwardsville. Morrison said it was one of the last undeveloped rail corridors in the county. The charge is estimated at $ 763,000, in component because it would require two box culverts.
Two longer-term projects are an Illinois 157 and Horseshoe Lake Road tunnel for Schoolhouse Trail and a bridge for Schoolhouse Trail over Illinois 111 in Pontoon Beach.
In any case, a main factor is safety.
At Illinois 157, the trail crosses five lanes of traffic at a busy intersection.
Increased traffic is also a problem in Illinois 111, but a tunnel is a problem due to groundwater.
“Wouldn’t it be great if you could get through (Illinois 111) with a bridge?” Morrison said. “It is becoming increasingly clear that a point separation, either above or below, would be particularly protective of this intersection.”
The two projects would be around four million dollars each.
Why are trails important?
“Increasingly, homeowners, visitors and citizens are looking for a way to get outside,” Morrison said. “They are for physical fitness. They are for recreation and an affordable way to bring the entire circle of relatives together. “
He added that the neighborhoods where there is interest in “pursuing recreation” are those that are being developed.
“We know our members use those trails in Madison County,” Mense said.
Part of it is a sense of security.
“It becomes incredibly important, especially during COVID,” he said. “Children can be several meters ahead of you and you can keep them there.”
There is an economic interest.
Morrison said he knows other people who are planning vacations in this domain just to cycle the trails. He said they were sending thousands of copies of the trail maps to others outside of Madison County.
“People use the trails to get to the paintings and to the school,” he says. “Even in winter, if there is no snow on the ground, other people use the trails.”
In addition to hyper-local trips, some trails will cover longer distances on MCT buses.
Since the early 2000s, all MCT buses have been equipped with front-loading bike racks. Several of the exit problems are the bus stops.
“It’s the best solution for us because we’re in the transportation industry and it provides this recreational and healthy transportation option,” Morrison said. “In addition, it retains those corridors and is helping to expand our bus system.
“If you can get off the bus, get on your motorcycle and take that last kilometer home … you can bring other people there, but how do you take them down that last kilometer?” He said. “The choice of motorcycle is a wonderful option, and when you can integrate our trails, it’s even better.”
It’s a general quality of life problem, according to Morrison.
“By beautifying the trails, improving the trails, we are getting a better life in Madison County,” he said.