Villages Continue Efforts to Lease Unused UP Tracks for Bike/Walking Trail
Following completion and approval by the Board of the Feasibility Study in early 2008, which indicated the various steps that could be taken to turn the Union Pacific railroad right of way into a walking/biking path through the four communities of Glenview, Wilmette, Northfield and Northbrook, the Skokie Valley Trail Committee sent letters, emails and made phone calls to Union Pacific to determine their interest in leasing the right of way under a rail banking agreement for an extension of the Skokie Valley Trail. Because there has been no formal response from Union Pacific to the Committee's request, the four communities held a meeting in July 2009 with representatives from the four Village Boards as well as with State Representatives Elaine Nekritz and Beth Coulson to discuss how to move the project along and how to determine Union Pacific's interest. Various strategies were discussed at the meeting and it was determined that the State and Board representatives would use their contacts to further gauge Union Pacific's future plans. An alternate approach or Plan B which the four communities are considering is the use of Commonwealth Edison's right of way versus Union Pacific's, however this was not addressed in the Feasibility Study. Efforts to meet with Union Pacific to discuss leasing the right of way continue.
