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Lincoln Heights council endorses Mill Creek Triangle Trail feasibility plan
Summary
The Village of Lincoln Heights unanimously adopted a nonbinding resolution of support for the Mill Creek Triangle Trail feasibility study after a presentation from Tri State Trails and brief questions about local alignments and funding. The endorsement does not commit local funds but strengthens future grant applications.
Wade Johnson, AICP, executive director of Tri State Trails, presented the Mill Creek Triangle Trail feasibility study to the Village of Lincoln Heights council on Oct. 27, asking the village to endorse the regional plan that would connect local parks and existing greenways.
Johnson told the council the multi-jurisdiction study — completed with participation from 12 local governments — aims to reconnect neighborhoods separated by highway and railroad corridors and to create mostly off-road, shared-use paths and protected bike lanes. He described a preferred alignment through Lincoln Heights that would link the West Fork Mill Creek Greenway, Marion, Wayne and Matthews to Glenwood Gardens and Sharon Woods, and stressed that the mapped routes are a vision, not a binding commitment.
The resolution before council, numbered 2025-R-84, is a nonbinding statement of support that, Johnson said, can improve a community’s competitiveness for state and federal infrastructure grants by showing regional coordination. He emphasized Tri State Trails would provide technical assistance and that individual communities would control implementation choices and phasing.
Council members asked about alternative route options, gaps in sidewalks on the northern end of Wayne, how the village could prioritize segments (for example, school-area connections), and whether local procurement could favor minority- and women-owned businesses. Johnson said communities decide which alternative to pursue and could stage connections to link with Woodlawn and Wyoming projects already seeking funding.
Council moved to suspend the rules, receive the resolution for passage and adopt the emergency clause. The council adopted resolution 2025-R-84 (support for the Mill Creek Triangle Trail feasibility study) in sequential procedural votes recorded by the clerk; the council’s recorded tallies during these procedural steps were entered in the minutes. The resolution is nonfinancial and advisory; specific alignments, costs and construction timelines remain subject to later engineering, grant awards and local approvals.
The next step for Lincoln Heights will be to notify Tri State Trails of the endorsement and, if council or staff choose, to work with neighboring communities to identify priority segments and pursue applicable grants or phased designs.
