Journal Reporter

Two years ago, Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson invited Wilmette Village President Nancy Canafax to a Flyers baseball game, and Canafax decided to ride her bicycle to the stadium.

But the 20 mile journey was easier said than done for Canafax, a seasoned bike-rider.

"There was no way she could look on a map [for bike trails]," said Larry Bury of the Northwest Municipal Conference. "It's easy to get around within a community, but there is nothing consistent from community to community."

A Northwest Municipal Conference Bike Planning Committee was launched in response to Canfax's challenge, and the committee is now being reactivated to identify corridors that would connect the suburbs' bike paths.

"We want to develop a system to find a way across the suburbs," Bury said.

Although the committee was recently on hiatus due to staffing changes within the Northwest Municipal Conference, the revived panel will build on the work already accomplished.

The committee previously identified nearly 900 miles of either constructed or planned bikeways in the Northwest Suburban area. Bury said he envisions a guide of broad corridors, particularly for less accessible corridors running East and West. Golf Road is one stretch that is not currently conducive to bicycle riding.

Palatine Road was also a corridor marked for bikeway improvement. However, the Illinois Dept. of Transportation downsized a $90 million reconstruction plan into a $20 million resurfacing plan due to budget constraints, and new bikeways were no longer a possibility.

Another area eyed for bikeway improvement is Schoenbeck Road in Prospect Hts. where the Elementary Dist. 23 school buildings meet Palatine Road.

The Bike Planning Committee will meet on Monday, May 9 at 10 a.m. in the Des Plaines NWMC offices. Those interested in serving on the committee can contact Mike Walczak or Chalen Hunter at 847-296-9200.