Bike trails coming to Carpentersville park
Carpentersville has inked an agreement with a mountain biking group that lets its volunteers build trails in Keith Andres Park, a move officials say will revitalize the “overgrown mess” of the park and turn it into a local attraction.
The measure passed Tuesday night by a 4-0 vote. Trustee Paul Humpfer arrived some time after the vote and Trustee Doug Marks was not there.
Chicago Area Mountain Bikers wants to use its volunteers to put in and maintain natural trails in Keith Andres Park, as well as a training area for beginners — at no cost to the village.
“Without CAMBr’s involvement, there would be no improvements whatsoever going on at Keith Andres Park,” Village Attorney James Rhodes said.
Besides bikers, the trails would be open to walkers, runners, bird watchers and others.
The board was originally scheduled to take a vote on the agreement last month but postponed it to iron out some legal language.
Then the plan met resistance from at least 22 neighbors who signed a petition against it.
They were concerned about a loss of privacy, increased litter, traffic and noise as a result of the trails.
CAMBr made several concessions, including agreeing to keep the trails away from private property and creating between three and five miles of trail rather than five miles, and to develop a maintenance plan for the park.
Its members will also work with the village’s parks committee to develop the trails to ensure they don’t destroy any of the park’s native plants.
“No one’s going to trounce on the trillium,” said Trustee Pat Schultz, also chairwoman of the parks committee.
Only two residents spoke out against CAMBr’s plan on Tuesday.
Wayne Bastiaans is fearful taxpayers will still somehow end up paying for the trails and doesn’t trust that CAMBr will keep its word about keeping them away from private property.
“The taxpayers’ money is my money,” Bastiaans said. “Until they actually put a stake in the ground and show me where that trail is at, I’m skeptical.”
The nonprofit group, made up of 485 mountain biking lovers, hopes to raise between $10,000 and $20,000 to hire professionals to lay the trails, said Mike Angus, president of the group’s northern chapter.
If they aren’t able to raise the money, the volunteers would install the trails themselves, he said.
The group won’t do anything, though, until it develops a layout plan with the parks committee, Angus said.
Angus also predicts that the trail will attract locals, rather than drawing large crowds — serious mountain bikers will head to trails in Wisconsin, he said.
CAMBr will use its own money to build and maintain the trails and work with the village to clean up the park and remove invasive trees that are choking off native plants.
It was an offer trustees couldn’t refuse.
Trails: Nonprofit group hopes to raise $20,000 for project