Imagine your neighborhood with safe, easy places to walk or bike. Families exploring together. Kids gaining independence. Neighbors stopping to chat. Local businesses seeing more visitors. That’s the difference trails, sidewalks, and paths make.
Recognizing the need for more trails and safe places to walk and bike, HeartLands Conservancy assisted several communities in Southern Illinois this year in making that vision a reality. Even with shifting federal priorities and funding cuts, safe and accessible trails remain more critical than ever.
Through our partnership with the Illinois Public Health Institute’s State Physical Activity and Nutrition program, we provide technical assistance to Downstate communities working to improve walkability and bike access.
This year, we focused on three communities ready to take action.
In Carbondale, our Pedestrian Connections Assessment identified nearly four miles of critical sidewalk and trail connections. These priority links will help residents move safely and easily across town. You can view the assessment online.
In Karnak, we developed a plan to connect downtown with the campground and the Tunnel Hill State Trail trailhead. When built, residents and visitors will have a safe alternative to walking along the roadway.
In Anna, we are helping the city improve bicycle and pedestrian access between downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Next year, we aim to finalize a strategy for the Main Street corridor that will make it safer and easier to walk and bicycle.
Across the country, trails and sidewalks are in high demand and can make a big difference for small communities. Yet many projects face funding cuts. Your voice matters. Speak up to local, state, and federal elected officials. Attend public meetings. Share your support.
With your help, trails can become community lifelines where people get outside, stay active, and feel connected to their communities.
Photo: Bryan Werner, MEPRD
Trails are Possible Because of Federal Funding
Trails in the Metro East and Southern Illinois are treasured community assets. Many communities have benefited from economic development spurred by regional bicycle trails and hiking trails.
Many of these trails have only been possible because of federal funding through programs like the Recreational Trails Program, Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program, RAISE/BUILD, Transportation Alternatives Program, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) grant programs. These programs are critical to increasing the region’s and nationwide access to trails.