It won’t be long before the newest city trail is officially open to the public. The rain has slowed the project’s landscaping but is expected to be completed by Wednesday, July 16. – photo by Mickey Alvarado
By MICKEY ALVARADO
Tecumseh residents are finding it hard to wait for the newest addition to the city’s hiking/biking trails to officially open and be ready for traffic and have already been seen using the unique asphalt path.
“People love it already,” said Tecumseh Parks and Recreation Director Pat Paul Sorise. “We're just waiting for good weather to finish the landscaping.”
A sign identifying the former railroad bed as a closed road may confuse those who are unfamiliar with the area but when completed the path will be clearly marked as a city trail. The unused railroad bed, between Cal Zorn Recreation Center and Tecumseh Acres Elementary School, fit perfectly into Tecumseh Parks and Recreation Department Director Pat Paul Sorise's overall plans of connecting as many of the parks with the city school's as feasibly possible. The “Russell Street to Union Street Trail” will be a wide asphalt path that runs from Russell Road north to Patterson Street behind the Nelson Park ball diamonds on Union.
There are four other proposed additions to the overall trail with the largest of the group running through Bird Park on north Maumee Street. Currently a wide wood chip trail leads visitors to the back of Globe Mill Pond where it ends near Herrick Park Elementary. Future plans include installing a walking bridge that connects Bird Park trail with Indian Crossing Trails Park to the east across a wide spillway that runs from Standish Dam to Globe Mill Pond.
Another extension would be to the Evans Creek Trail. Currently the trail runs from Tecumseh High School's tennis courts east along Evan's Creek behind Brookside Cemetery to Union Street. Phase II of the project will add another section to Evens Creek Trail from Evans Street to North Maumee Street at the front of Bird Park.
Further north, branching off of the existing Brown Street Pathway in front of John .W. Smith Park on Evens Street, is another proposed path that would run through the heart of the city’s newest park.
The final proposed addition on Tecumseh's Parks and Trails map would be on the south side of M-50 passing in front of Beardsley Park and extending to the edge of the city in front of Lenawee Stamping.
The City of Tecumseh's Parks & Trails maps can be picked up at many of the city offices including city hall and the Parks and Recreation Department.