A public open house regarding a proposed segment of the Skokie Valley Trail is scheduled for Wednesday, May 29 from 5:00-7:30 PM at the Glenview Village Hall (2500 East Lake Avenue). All Northfield residents are encouraged to attend.
Constructing the Skokie Valley Trail (SVT) has been a long-term goal of the Village of Northfield since its inclusion in the 1999 Comprehensive Plan. The SVT is an uninterrupted linear multi-modal connection between Lake Bluff and the City of Chicago. The multi-use path would run along the discontinued Union Pacific Railroad corridor, ComEd right-of-way (ROW), municipal ROW, and existing Cook County Forest Preserve paths through a number of communities on Chicago’s north shore, including the Village of Northfield.
Over the past 20 years, Northfield and other communities have unsuccessfully attempted to move the project forward using grant funding. Some communities left the group to work independently and constructed or will soon begin construction on their segments.
The only section left to be addressed is the 4.15 mile stretch from Northfield’s northern border to Old Orchard Road. This segment runs through the Villages of Northfield, Wilmette, Glenview, and Skokie, which joined together in 2018 to secure an $188,000 Invest in Cook grant for the first phase of engineering. The Village of Glenview is the lead agency on this phase of the project.
The SVT is intended to increase community walkability and provide convenient access to a number of community focal points, including New Trier High School, the Cook County Forest Preserve, and the North Shore Senior Center. Our team of communities has submitted two grant applications to assist with funding the next phase of engineering, and construction is currently unbudgeted.
To learn more about the project, visit the Village of Glenview (the lead agency) project page here. If you have questions regarding the project, please feel free to call Assistant to the Village Manager Melissa DeFeo at (847) 784-3554. To ensure comments are documented for the public record, please submit them via email to mdefeo@northfieldil.org or by mail to 361 Happ Road, Northfield IL 60077. We hope to see you at the open house on May 29!