The northeastern Illinois region is fortunate to have abundant natural resources with a great diversity of habitats. World-class bike trails also pass through the region, providing access to the area’s forest preserves, parks, and other destinations and offering a comfortable transportation option for people traveling by bike.

However, despite all these resources, many gaps exist between bike facilities and between bike routes and these prominent destinations. One such gap, between the Fox River Trail and the Old Stover Trail, has been identified as a priority in several regional plans. Connecting these two trails six miles apart would open up access by bicyclists to the Crabtree Nature Center and destinations further east, including Busse Woods, eight miles southeast of the study area.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has funded this feasibility study to identify potential bike routes, analyze them to determine the best option, and recommend the appropriate type of bicycle facility, such as sidepaths, bike lane markings, or paved shoulders.

As community stakeholders, you will help guide this process by helping to establish evaluation criteria based on what is most important to you. You will help us narrow the many possible route combinations down to two choices and, eventually, one preferred route. Please take our survey here to provide initial input.