North Shore Channel Trail Extension Feasibility Study
Evanston Transit Alliance, in partnership with Wilmette Park District, Village of Wilmette and the City of Evanston, has successfully secured a $40,000 Invest in Cook grant. The first phase of planning is now underway for the last remaining 1.5 mile section of the North Shore Channel Trail. This would extend the beloved walking and cycling path from its current dead-end terminus at Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard to Gillson Park in Wilmette, near the Baha'i House of Worship and Sheridan Road. The project also includes studying a connection to Poplar Ave which is a bicycle route providing access to the Green Bay Trail in Wilmette, making this connection a true regional link.
The feasibility study is currently underway. Please take the time to examine the documentation below to see what this trail extension could look like, and provide your feedback on preferred routing options via online survey prior to February 28, 2025. ETA is strongly in support of the Underpass Option below Green Bay Road/Union Pacific Railroad tracks, as it is the only alignment which would eliminate the need for road crossings and conflicts with cars.
Step 1: Review the trail concepts
Step 2: Take the survey
https://helloinput.org/index.php?cID=536
Wilmette Park District Director Steve Wilson expressed his thanks for support from local agencies and advocates, adding, “we look forward to exploring a connection that will enhance the North Shore’s active transportation work.” Dave Stoneback, Deputy City Manager said, “Evanston is grateful to Cook County for the grant and we're looking forward to exploring the feasibility of connecting the channel trail to the lakefront.”
ETA has been included in the planning effort, monitoring the progress and providing crucial insights as first-hand users of local bike infrastructure and members of the Evanston-Wilmette community. Once potential route designs have been found to be viable the project can progress to phases of engineering work. If all goes well, the North Shore Channel Trail could finally be complete by 2030, roughly 120 years since the digging of the Channel itself was completed. “By the end of the decade, hopefully we’re riding on this one-and-a-half mile extension… mend[ing] our broken trail network here in Evanston,” John Fervoy said. “Instead of Evanston being where the trails end, maybe with more work, we can be the place where bike trails connect.”
