Kent Trails is a fifteen-mile rail trail in Kent County, Michigan that runs through the cities of Grand Rapids , Grandville , Walker , Wyoming and Byron Township and is part of a network of trails in and around Grand Rapids. It runs north and south from John Ball Park in Grand Rapids to 84th Street in Byron Township, with an extension that runs east/west along 76th Street and north/south from 76th Street to Douglas Walker Park on 84th Street.
8-730: In June 2008, the Frederick Meijer Trail (Then called The M-6 Trail) was built along the M-6 freeway that connects the Paul Henry-Thornapple Rail Trail with Kent Trails. In 2009, a six-mile stretch of the trail from Grand Rapids to Byron Township was repaved and widened from 8 feet to 10 feet. Three bridges along the trail were also replaced with new, wider bridges. 42°53′39″N 85°43′55″W / 42.89408°N 85.73192°W / 42.89408; -85.73192 This Kent County, Michigan location article
16-814: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Frederik Meijer Trail The Frederik Meijer M-6 Trail , formerly called the M-6 Trail , is a rail trail in Kent County , Michigan. It connects the Paul Henry–Thornapple Rail Trail with the Kent Trails in Byron Township, Michigan . The trail starts at a junction with the Kent Trails west of Byron Center Avenue in Wyoming . The trail runs along
24-559: The freeway. The eastern end is at Wing Avenue and 60th Street in Kentwood , at the Paul Henry–Thornapple Rail Trail . The M-6 Trail was constructed in a $ 3.5 million project that started in 2008. The goal was to create a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) path linking the Kent Trails with the Paul Henry–Thornapple Rail Trail. The M-6 Trail was the brainchild of Gaines Township Supervisor Don Hilton, Sr. He had pushed to have
32-455: The north side of the M-6 freeway to Clyde Park Avenue. The trail follows Clyde Park south to 68th Street where it terminates. Cyclists can continue along 68th Street over the US Highway 131 (US 131) freeway to Clay Avenue and north along Clay to the trail on the south side of M-6. The trail continues east over Division Avenue to Eastern Avenue where it crosses back over to the north side of
40-574: The path included in the original freeway construction and opened with the rest of the South Beltline. The trail project was funded by $ 2.9 million in federal grants and $ 300,000 from the Frederik and Lena Meijer Foundation . The balance came from Kent County and the townships. Work on the first phase was completed in June 2008. This segment connected the Kent Trails with 68th Street in Byron Township . Work on
48-510: The safety of this trail crossing. The first improvement was the installation of a "countdown" signal, which relays to trail users the amount of time remaining to get across the seven traffic lanes before the signal turns green for Bryon Center Road. Since the two westbound freeway exit lanes are allowed an uncontrolled right turn on red, the next step was to reposition the trail crossing, moving it several hundred yards further north to connect with an existing city sidewalk and traffic signal. This work
56-467: The second phase of the trail between Division Avenue and 60th Street was completed in November 2008. The remaining segment of the trail is a third phase for a dedicated trail along 68th Street and Clay Avenue to bridge the gap between Clyde Park and Division avenues remains incomplete. This 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) segment was projected to cost between $ 750,000 and $ 1.5 million in 2008. One challenge to
64-725: The segment is crossing an active Norfolk Southern rail line near US 131 and M-6. On July 9, 2011, cyclist Larry Martin Sr. was struck and killed at the Byron Center crossing. This prompted the installation of West Michigan's first ghostbike. A coalition of agencies (the Kent County Road Commission, Kent County Parks, the City of Wyoming, and the Michigan Department of Transportation ) met to discuss what could be done to enhance
#595404