Berrien County Non-Motorized Summit

To Focus on Connectivity

• Download: berriencounty_feb6.pdf

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC), the Best Practices Committee of The Strategic Leadership Council and Andrews University are hosting a Berrien County Non-Motorized Summit on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, from 7–9 p.m. It will take place in the lobby of the Howard Performing Arts Center on the campus of Andrews University located at 4160 E. Campus Circle Drive, Berrien Springs, MI 49104.

This summit is open to the public and is free to attend. Refreshments will be provided. There will be a brief presentation on non-motorized facilities in Berrien County and then a work session to gather input on desired facilities and priorities to help develop a vision. Non-motorized facilities include trails or shared-use paths, bike lanes and paved shoulders that connect communities.

This free event is funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and is part of a larger effort to update the Southwest Michigan Non-Motorized Plan and Bicycling Guide for seven counties (Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren).

Currently, major trail efforts in Berrien County include the following:

• Indiana Michigan River Valley, a 34-mile trail connecting Niles, Michigan, to Mishawaka, Indiana. There is interest in expanding this trail to connect to Berrien Springs and ultimately to St. Joseph.
• Berrien County Linear Park is the Berrien County Parks Department effort to link existing county parks with a trail with the first priority along Red Arrow Highway from Bridgman to the Galien River County Park north of New Buffalo.
• Marquette Greenway will be a 58-mile trail connecting New Buffalo to Chicago. Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is working with the municipalities and Friends of Harbor Country Trails to develop a route from the Indiana state line to downtown New Buffalo. 

Many communities in Berrien County have trail systems, such as St. Joseph City (John and Dede Howard Family Recreation Trail), Buchanan City (McCoy’s Creek Trail) and Benton Harbor City (Harbor Shores trails).

There are also efforts to add bike lanes and paved shoulders on roads to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. Some major projects include Napier Avenue (Benton and St. Joseph Townships), Red Arrow Highway (Chikaming and New Buffalo Townships) and M-63 Highway (Hagar Township). Other activities such as adding bike racks, share-the-road signage and road markings will also make our communities more bike friendly. 

For more information about this event, please contact Kris Martin at martink@swmpc.org or by phone at 269-925-1137, x1521.