Brookfield officials debated on Monday, July 13, whether the village should be responsible for covering the costs associated with constructing a proposed bike trail along 31st Street from Prairie Avenue to village limits.
The village board reached a consensus that the village will accept its share of the costs to construct the path from Prairie Avenue to McCormick Avenue while asking representatives at the county level to cover some of the village’s portion to then extend the path from McCormick Avenue to where Brookfield ends and Riverside begins. That border is about 300 feet west of Golfview Avenue and falls directly along Golf Road further south.
Village Manager Tim Wiberg said 2030 is the earliest that the bike path could be constructed, as phase one engineering is still ongoing this year and funding is yet to be obtained for the second phase of the project, which must also conclude ahead of construction.
The bike path is set to be created as part of the Des Plaines River Trail South Extension Project, an intergovernmental project that also involves Cook County and its Forest Preserve District as well as the villages of Riverside and Lyons. Brookfield has served as the lead agency for the project since 2019.
The project, which has made stop-and-go progress over the years, aims to fill gaps across the region in the Des Plaines River Trail, which runs more than 50 miles from the Illinois-Wisconsin border to River Grove, a village near O’Hare International Airport. After a gap of nearly seven miles, the trail picks up in Lyons and runs south for another mile and a half.
This was the village board’s first update on the project since trustees agreed in October 2024 that the bike path along 31st Street should run along the south side of the road, adjacent to eastbound traffic.
According to village documents, the stretch of the path from Prairie Avenue to McCormick Avenue will cost $4.1 million in total, with Brookfield’s 20% share of the cost set at $820,000. The portion from McCormick to village limits will cost another $3.1 million in total, with Brookfield’s share at $624,000. If Brookfield were to pay for both of its shares all on its own, it would cost the village $1,444,000.
The 80% share of the overall cost for both portions of the road will be funded through a Surface Transportation Program grant Brookfield was awarded by the West Central Council of Mayors. Because funding for STP grants comes from a federal source, the village cannot seek additional federal funding for its 20% share, but state or county funding may be able to reduce the costs further, Village Engineer Derek Treichel said.
“We’re looking to reaffirm that the board is in for the cost for the local share of $820,000,” Treichel said in reference to the stretch from Prairie to McCormick. “That doesn’t mean you don’t go out and look for additional funding, but that’s the 20% share right now.”
Treichel asked the board whether Brookfield’s representatives in an upcoming meeting should commit the village to covering the local cost for the stretch east of McCormick Avenue. Trustees agreed the village should maintain that those costs ought not to be solely Brookfield’s responsibility.
“I started meeting on this when I was village president in 2015, and we were having the exact same discussion then in terms of the funding,” Trustee Kit Ketchmark said. “There’s regional benefit to this well beyond Brookfield, so the funding should be well beyond Brookfield for this. It’s a good idea that it goes to First Avenue, absolutely, but there’s regional benefit, so there needs to be more contribution from others.”
Wiberg said he expects Riverside’s representatives will also request increased funding from the county for its own 20% share to extend the bike path to the First Avenue Trail.
Last October, the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways offered to fund nearly $260,000 toward Riverside’s portion of the costs, accounting for nearly half of them, to extend the trail east along 31st Street and south along First Avenue. Riverside has also agreed to let the trail follow Waubansee Road west before it turns south through Forest Preserves property and rejoins First Avenue in Lyons.
Trustee Kyle Whitehead emphasized the importance of the connector route at the local level.
“Riverside is a very popular destination for people walking and biking. Brookfield residents are traveling to Riverside for recreation and shopping and restaurants, and this could be a much safer connection than what exists currently,” Whitehead said. “When Riverside residents are coming to Brookfield, they have the potential to spend money and support our businesses. If it makes it easier for people to access the village, I think there’s an added benefit of that connection.”
