Fall 2023 Trails Update

August 8, 2023 - Township staff and the Trail Committee have been hard at work trying to make sure that the trail system in Ada meets the needs of its residents through several projects planned for this year. Below is a listing of the status of the trail projects that were approved for this year.

• Fulton St. (Ada Drive to Grand River and under Fulton to access North side of Fulton St. trail) – The project was awarded to Wyoming Excavators Inc. at the July 10^th Township Board meeting for $1,639,496 and will be completed by mid-November. This project will connect Fulton St. to the trail constructed behind the Village East of Ada development and Legacy Park.
• Pettis Avenue Phase II (Chief Hazy Cloud Entrance to Vergennes St.) – This section has been paused as the Township evaluates whether there are any funding options to move the trail to the south side of Pettis as opposed to the previously planned North Side. A final decision on this trail segment will be made in early 2024.
• Rix St. (Ada Drive to Adaridge Dr.) – The project was designed to be in the railroad right-of-way, but the railroad has not provided the approval needed. If the railroad is not open to the placement in their right-of-way the Township will re-evaluate the location of the trail.
• System wide Trail Repairs – The Township awarded a large package ($354,199.74) of trail repairs to Thomet Construction to be completed this summer/fall. Once this work is complete the Township will complete a review of any outstanding repair items and prepare for a 2024 repair package. Moving forward the Township will have an annual repair package bid out to make sure the trail system is in the best shape possible. A map of the trail repairs can be found here - 2023 - Ada Trail Repairs
• Wayfinding Signage – The Township has been working with Corbin Design out of Traverse City on the trail wayfinding signage designs. A joint meeting will be held with the Township Board and the Trail Committee to receive a final presentation and cost estimates for the project. Staff is hopeful that signs can begin to be installed this fall, but the project will likely run into 2024.
• Thornapple River Pedestrian Bridge – Township Staff submitted a grant to the MEDC Rap 2.0 Grant for $500,000 in funding towards the total cost of a pedestrian bridge over the Thornapple River north of Thornapple River Dr. The Township will find out if the grant request is successful this fall. A rendering is below:

Pettis Avenue Phase II (Chief Hazy Cloud Entrance to Vergennes St.) Preliminary Information

Phase II design engineering is well underway and will be completed shortly. Once design engineering is complete the Township will invite impacted property owners to a meeting to present the plans.

Once the plans have been approved by the Township Board they will be released for construction and the plan is to complete construction by the end of October 2023.

Fulton St. (Ada Drive to Grand River)

This path will be located on the south side of Fulton St. beginning at Ada Drive and heading east to the Grand River. Once it reaches the Grand River it will include a path underneath the Fulton St. bridge connecting to the trail on the north side of Fulton St. This connection will allow residents to travel from the downtown village area to the north side of Fulton without crossing at a surface crossing. This project will also connect to the public path easement that is part of the Village East of Ada development project. This easement will allow residents to travel from the new trail on Fulton St. through Village East of Ada to Legacy Park.

Design engineering is well underway and should be completed shortly. The project is planned to be bid out in the spring and will be completed near the end of October 2023.

Click the file below to see the preliminary location map with potential renderings.

Rix Street (Ada Drive to Adaridge Drive)

This path will connect the neighborhood with the downtown allowing for pedestrians to stay off Rix St. which can be quite busy during morning and afternoon school traffic. The current plan is to locate this trail in the railroad right-of-way but approval from the railroad is still required.

The project is planned to be bid out in the spring and will be completed near the end of October 2023.

Click the file below to see the preliminary location map with potential renderings -(This map will be posted 3/1/23)

2022 Construction Project Wrap-Up:

• Pettis Avenue Trail Phase I – Construction of this new 4.2-mile section of non-motorized path from Knapp St. to the entrance of Kent County’s Chief Hazy Cloud Park has been completed. There is minor landscaping restoration scheduled to be completed this spring.

• Hall St./Cascade Rd./Spaulding Connector – Construction of this small stretch of non-motorized path connecting Hall Street near the Consumers Energy Trail with the sidewalk on Spaulding was completed. This will allow residents to travel west on Cascade Rd. without having to cross both Hall St. and Cascade Rd.

• The Township had hoped to construct the Kamp Twins connector trail between Fase St. and Buttrick Ave, but this project is delayed slightly due to some railroad permitting issues. It is anticipated these issues will be resolved shortly and allow for construction in 2023 or 2024.

Other Trail Updates

• Wayfinding Signage – The Township is working with Corbin Design to create a wayfinding signage plan for the Township trail network that will provide directional signage, information kiosks, maps, and mileage markers throughout the network. This will allow the Township to communicate to trail users about everything Ada has to offer. It is anticipated these signs will be installed in 2023 if the project moves forward without delays.

• The Township has been an active participant in the Grand Rapids Greenway Trail discussions that would allow trail users to travel from Grand Rapids all the way to the City of Lowell. Ada Township serves as an important regional connector for this potential project and hopefully there will be exciting updates to announce soon.

• Potential Construction Projects – The trail committee is currently reviewing potential projects for 2024 and 2025 and looking at what segments serve neighborhoods and improve connectivity throughout the Township.

• Staff will be putting out to bid a large list of repairs throughout the existing trail system. This will be done as an annual process to make sure the Township is properly maintaining the system, not only building new paths.

If you have any questions about the Trails projects under construction or consideration in future years please contact Julius Suchy, Township Manager at jsuchy@adatownshipmi.com. Please report any maintenance issues on the trails to the Parks Department at 616-676-0520 or adaparks@adatownshipmi.com.