Scio Township is Planning to Connect a Pathway to a Sidewalk

Scio Township wants to make sure one pathway doesn’t lead to nowhere.

To do this, the Scio Township Board approved at its April 22 meeting a plan to devote $20,000 for the purpose of completing a pathway connection along Park Road. The path is part of the Trailwoods development.

In a report to the township board about the pathway, Murphy Harrington, Scio’s Parks Preserves & Pathways Director, said as part of the Trailwoods development, a community benefit was outlined that required the developers to install an 8-foot-wide pathway.

Harrington said in order to ensure that this pathway doesn’t end with a connection to nowhere, the Parks, Preserves, and Pathways Committee has recommended funding the completion of a connection between the Trailwoods pathway and Arbor Pointe sidewalk.

“The timing of the completion of this connection (work to be conducted by E.T. Makenzie) is an excellent opportunity both financially and socially,” Harrington said in the report.

“From a financial perspective, we are able to finish this project at a reasonable cost due to ongoing work on the pathway (i.e. the equipment and work teams are already present on-site) and utilize funds from the approved MEDC (Michigan Economic Development Corporation) Grant fund for Park Road paving improvements,” Harrington said. “From a social perspective, the completion of this sidewalk would ensure that walkers, joggers, and cyclists would have a safe and accessible route from Trailwoods to Arbor Point, a neighborhood in which sidewalks exist all the way to Zeeb Road Pathway.”

Photo of the incomplete pathway courtesy of Scio Township