Algonquin's Prairie Trail extension opening to steer people to local businesses

For years, the Prairie Trail has carried bikers, hikers and joggers through various parts of Algonquin.

Now, village officials hope they have found a way to inspire them to stay a while.

The village will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday to celebrate the recent completion of the Old Town Prairie Trail and Maker's Park Multi-Use Path projects. A new 750-foot path diverts off the Prairie Trail and into the Maker's Park area, where village officials hope people will visit the businesses there.

“We were looking for connectivity between the Old Town and some of our adjacent neighborhoods,” said Algonquin Assistant Village Manager Mike Kumbera. “There isn't a lot of accessibility to Maker's Park except by vehicle. And with the Prairie Trail bisecting our village, any kind of connection we can make is a positive.”

The project cost is about $238,000, although a grant obtained last year from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources covered $148,000 of the total. From concept to completion, and through collaboration with the McHenry County Conservation District, the project took a year to finish and includes a new pedestrian bridge.

There's also a new pergola in Old Town where the Prairie Trail meets South Main Street, which is where Saturday's ceremony will take place. The distance from Old Town to Maker's Park is now less than a mile via the Prairie Trail.

To get an idea of the project's scope, the village created a video that was shot with a drone camera to highlight the trail's extension off the Prairie Trail and into Maker's Park.

Village officials hope it'll motivate people to visit and take a closer look.

“The Prairie Trail does a lot of traffic, a lot of bicycles coming through the town,” Kumbera said. “We want them to hop off the trail and enjoy what Algonquin has to offer with restaurants and shopping.”