North Shore Channel Trail extension possible, but very costly

(Editor’s Note: A portion of this story was reported by Alan K. Cubbage for the Evanston RoundTable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.)

Building a new walking and biking path along the North Shore Channel in Evanston and Wilmette is possible but doing so would cost millions of dollars, a recently released feasibility study shows.

In addition, any of the proposed alternative routes is likely to raise concerns from other groups and agencies that operate along the channel.

The Wilmette Park District in 2024 commissioned a feasibility study to determine whether a shared pedestrian/bicycle trail could be constructed along the North Shore Channel from Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard in Evanston to Sheridan Road near the Bahai Temple in Wilmette.

For cyclists, the 1 1/2-mile paved trail would connect the North Shore Channel Trail from where it now ends to the bike lanes on Sheridan Road in Wilmette. The trail also would create a walking path for pedestrians along that stretch of the channel.

The study was funded by a $40,000 grant from Cook County and additional support from the Wilmette Park District, the Village of Wilmette and the City of Evanston. The study was conducted by Teska Associates, an Evanston community planning and landscape architecture firm, and CBBEL, a Rosemont-based engineering firm.

The feasibility study examined two preferred alternatives for constructing a trail along the channel. One alternative would build the trail on the ground, either at the level of The Evans at Canal Shores golf course that occupies that area, or at a lower elevation adjacent to the channel waterway.

The other alternative calls for building an elevated trail built on piers in the channel, which is owned and maintained by the Metropolitan Water District of Greater Chicago.

The study also looked at several options on how to link to the existing trail that now ends at McCormick and Green Bay, where to construct a bridge across the channel, and the possibility of using nearby streets to create the connections.

The study concluded that all the trail alternatives are feasible but did not provide an estimated construction cost because a specific route was not chosen; however, simply doing the first phase of engineering, which would be the next step, would cost between $2-$3 million, the study says. Construction costs would be significantly more, officials said.

The study also noted that extensive coordination with the water district, Wilmette, Evanston, the Union Pacific Railroad, the Evans at Canal Shores golf course and other interested parties would be required.

Josh Wallace, the Wilmette Park District’s superintendent of parks and planning said the district had received the study but that there was no action planned on it at this time. City of Evanston officials were unavailable for comment. 

Matt Rooney, president of the Evans at Canal Shores Golf Course Board of Directors, said the organization was opposed to having the trail built on the edges of the course. 

“From the beginning, we told them it was a nonstarter to have any kind of bike path that would be at the course level. It just doesn’t seem feasible.” Rooney said, explaining that the course had just undergone a complete renovation that included extensive landscaping and restoration of the entire area.

A letter from the water district included in the study states that the MWRD “has multiple concerns” about the proposal to build an elevated path on structures in and along the channel, stating, “Any construction may potentially restrict the flow and reduce the channel’s storage and conveyance capacity during rain events.”

The MWRD letter states several other concerns and noted that the channel is recognized as a navigable waterway so any construction in the channel would require a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Despite the potential opposition and significant estimated cost, John Fervoy, a leader of the Evanston Transit Alliance, an advocacy group for cycling and mass transit, remains hopeful that the trail can be built. 

“This concept that originated with Wilmette residents is a mere mile and a half through green space,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer with potential to connect the Channel Trail — the only regional trail that enters Evanston — with Gilson Park, the Sheridan bike lanes, and the Green Bay Trail. That would create a largely off-road connection from Belmont Avenue in Chicago to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for all the communities in the region.

“Because of this potential, I am confident that funding next steps will eventually be found either locally or via the county, state or federal government. Evanston Transit Alliance is proud of being the entity that got the project started but obviously we’ll need powerful help to continue moving it forward.”

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