Planning for our Trail & Linking to Others

Connection News: Potential Trail Links in Southeastern Michigan

A subcommittee of the Paint Creek Trailways Commission is working to preserve or acquire a .3 mile segment of right-of-way at the north end of the Paint Creek Trail in the Village of Orion. Village officials, a local developer, the Commission and residents are working cooperatively to preserve this important eventual link to the Polly Ann Trail. Connecting the two trails would make the Paint Creek/Polly Ann one of the longest trail segments in the state of Michigan and likely serve the largest concentration of trail users in the state. Increased pedestrian traffic to the Village of Orion would positively impact the local economy of the Village as well.

China Township Planning Commissioner, Scott Anderson is asking for our help and support of a potential connection from Oakland County to the St. Clair River. Future meetings will be posted here. There is a potential for an intermational trailway connection to Canada via ferry.

Clinton River Pathway (Macomb County)
The Friends of the Clinton River Pathway's goal is to connect trails from Mt Clemens through Clinton Township and on to Rochester along the Clinton River corridor, as well links to the Metropolitan Beach and Budd Park paths. The group meets on a regular basis, hosts walks to create awareness and is working with government officials and local business owners. Visit http://www.prestigecycles.com/crp.html for meeting notices, updates, and announcements. The group may need letters of support to elected officials or your support for a future meeting. Visit our 'Friends' page for a link to their list group for emailed meeting notices.

Strategic Planning & Projects

In 1999, the Paint Creek Trail received the distinction of being dedicated Michigan’s only Millennium Legacy Trail. As a recipient of this designation, the Paint Creek Trailways Commission is eligible to participate in the Millennium Legacy Art project supported by the NEA/MCACA,  It was determined a strategic plan was the necessary first step to best utilize these grant funds and to solicit input from the community on art projects.

Photos by Lois Golden

The Paint Creek Trailways Commission hosted a special Millennium Legacy Trail strategic planning meeting.  Guests included stakeholders from all four communities and others concerned with the recreational and cultural importance of the Paint Creek Trail. Guests gave input on their vision for the future of the trail, which included various improvements and a desire to see future connections to the PollyAnn Trailway to the north and Clinton River Trail at the south. The discussion focused on the recommendation of an arts project.

The Commission chose a "Prairie Restoration" in Oakland Township as the first in a series of four projects to be developed along the trail. Three other undefined projects will be located in each of the three remaining communities in the future.

The transformation of this "Prairie Restoration" as a community/heritage project calls for the participation of an ecologist, videographer, artist, writer and an historian or naturalist to:

• Survey, inventory and develop a plan for the actual prairie restoration.
• Provide a written documentation of the prairie restoration story.
• Interpret the restoration story with an on-site information installation
• Design a graphic symbol that is representative of the "Prairie Restoration"
• Document on videotape this collaborative restoration process.

The Prairie Restoration Arts Project in Winter
by Local Artist, Al Hebert

What is a "controlled burn" or prairie restoration?
Oakland Township's Pre-Settlement Vegetation Map (excerpt from the Township's Master Plan)

Southeast Michigan Greeways Trail
Southeast Michigan Greenways Trail Map
Millennium Trails List