Bike path connection planned for 149 new homes in Schaumburg
A bike path connection along Nitti Development's 149-home Summit Grove subdivision under construction in Schaumburg has been designed, but will require the village to pay the utility company owning the adjacent property a one-time fee of $2,500 to process a legal agreement for perpetual use of its land.
Schaumburg trustees will vote Tuesday on the payment to Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, which owns an 82.5-foot-wide property east of Summit Drive and next to the 62 acres Nitti Development bought from Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 last fall.
The coming subdivision is bordered by Summit Drive to the west, Plum Grove Road to the east, Wise Road to the south and existing houses extending from Weathersfield Way to the north.
The bike path connection Nitti plans to build itself would run through the southern half of the Natural Gas property. The path would be at least 41 feet from neighboring properties to the north and preserve as many trees as possible while avoiding two underground gas lines and an existing water main.
The bike path with which this new section would connect is considered an important part of the region's network, identified as a priority corridor in the new Northwest Municipal Conference Multimodal Plan and the village's own 2018 Comprehensive Plan.
Though a precise completion date hasn't been identified, the bike path connection is intended to be an amenity for residents of the area and part of the first phase of construction on the Summit Grove subdivision, Schaumburg Transportation Director Karyn Robles said.
"We're certainly anxious to see it open," she added.
The anticipated license agreement with Natural Gas would allow the public full access to the bike path and enable the village to maintain it. But the village won't be permitted to dig on the site without permission or to alter the landscape, such as by planting trees or shrubs.
Sheds, playground equipment and gardens currently on the Natural Gas property but in conflict with the planned bike path would be removed during construction under the agreement.