• Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance

  • ...is a non-profit organization that shall foster and facilitate the creation of an interconnected statewide system of trails and greenways for recreation, health, transportation, economic development and environmental/cultural preservation purposes.

Connecting Michigan

Connecting Michigan plan

Planning for the Future of Michigan’s Trail System: A State Trails Planning Partnership

For additional information, visit the Connecting Michigan web site.

Project Sponsors

Thank you to the Connecting Michigan Project Sponsors:

  • The Ruth Mott Foundation
  • People and Land
  • Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative
  • Oakland County Parks
  • Rowe, Inc.
  • Michigan Fitness Foundation

Phase I: Kick-off Meeting April 13, 2006

The kick-off was a big success with over 200 attendees! Representatives from state departments, regional planning, health and transportation entities, local elected officials, planners, and parks and recreation personnel, landscape architect and engineering firms, and individual trail advocates were among those represented. Fourteen task forces were formed from the crucial topics identified by registrants. They include:

  • Funding for Trail Acquisition and Construction
  • Statewide GIS Trailway Database and Website
  • How to Work with Easements and Titles
  • Programming for Trails - Encouraging Use
  • Funding for Long-Term Operations and Maintenance
  • Tourism: Marketing & Promoting Trails
  • On-road Connections to trails
  • Building Support for Trailways: Education and Advocacy
  • Overcoming Jurisdictional Boundaries: Regional Collaboration
  • State Interdepartmental Cooperation for Technical Assistance, Funding, Planning, and Design
  • Multi-Use Trails and Design: Universal Design Standards, Surfaces, User Conflict
  • Trails in a Statewide Context: Setting Priorities?
  • Interstate Connections
  • Equestrian Trails
  • Law Enforcement and Security on Trails

Phase 2: Task Force Meetings

Task Forces will meet over the next 6 months at least three times to decide the scale and scope of the issues, take expert testimony, and come up with goals and action steps. A vision and action plan will be released next March, 2007, which will lay the groundwork for the future of Michigan’s trail system.

Click on the Task Forces below to review the deliberations of each group thus far.

  • Upcoming Events

    • Slideshow

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