Winnetka peddles forward with Green Bay Trail improvements

Local officials are continuing to pave the path toward needed updates to a prized community asset for several North Shore towns.

Winnetka’s Village Council during its Thursday, Nov. 5 meeting approved a professional services contract with Strand and Associates for the first two phases of engineering work related to the Green Bay Trail improvement project.

In June of this year, village officials updated the council on potential avenues for updating the signature trail. During that session, per village documents, trustees directed staff to seek proposals from design firms to begin the early phases of potential trail improvements.

James Bernahl, Winnetka’s director of engineering, told the council that the scope of the proposed improvements will focus on the trail’s south section — more specifically, Ash Street to just past Winnetka Avenue until the southern village limit.

The project includes several updates, which Bernahl noted are subject to refinement during preliminary design and village review.

Plans call for approximately 3,300 feet of trail improvements, Bernahl said. He added that the proposed design provides what he described as a “consistent eight-foot-wide asphalt bike trail.”

Plans also include widening and resurfacing the existing 3-foot gravel running path along the east side, plus adding a new 3-foot gravel running path along the west side and a bike trail stripping system, he said.

At the Indian Hill overpass on Winnetka Avenue, improvements are slated to cover about 300 feet and include a sidewalk connection to existing steps, seating, a picnic table, mile marker and a 40-by-20-foot activity platform.

At the Wilson Street and Willow Road access point, improvements are set to cover approximately 150 feet and include seating and a similar 40-by-20 activity platform.

Bernahl said both amenity areas include vegetation work and landscape restoration.

According to village documents, Winnetka received grant funding, with the help of U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, for the trail updates. Because the grant will be administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Winnetka must adhere to the agency’s “project development and design procedures to ensure compliance with the grant requirements.”

Part of that process, as Bernahl explained to trustees, requires preliminary engineering and final design prior to any actual construction advancing.

Phase I, Bernahl said, will include topographic surveying, environmental review, geotechnical investigations, preliminary design and utility coordination. He also added that there will be a public information meeting as part of this phase as well as the preparation of a project development report and preliminary cost estimates.

Per Bernahl, the second phase will focus more on developing detailed engineering plans and specifications, including erosion control and stormwater management plans.

The contract amount trustees advanced Nov. 5 is for a total not to exceed $225,200. That includes $136,100 devoted to Phase I engineering, $84,200 to Phase II and just under $5,000 for bidding assistance.

Bernahl estimated the grant Winnetka received, under the federal Surface Transportation Program, is just over $900,000, but noted he did not yet know the exact amount.

Trustees reached a consensus to move this stage of the project forward by approving adoption of the contract; however nearly every member of the board expressed an interest to see more detailed plans about the project later this year.

Village Manager Kristin Kazenas concluded conversations by asking Bernahl to return to the council in December “with some more clarity about the parameters of the grant opportunity and a refresher on what the starting point for the conceptual design would be so that council can weigh in with a little more specificity.”

Under current plans, construction on updates to the trail would take place in 2028, officials estimated.

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