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 page.

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.