Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 1-7

Chicago Tribune Section 1 Monday, May 9, 2016 7 Major Taylor Trail struggling for recognition Trail, from Page 7 a cyclist and Friends of the Major Taylor Trail member. The Park District has added trash cans and this spring activated LED lighting from 107th to 127th streets. Supporters want to make more people aware of the trail, improve maintenance and have better traffic control at street crossings. This will prepare for expected increased interest in the trail due to a connection next spring to what promises to become an 86-mile bike loop the Southland Century. The Major Taylor will link to the popular Cal-Sag Trail, being built with $21 million of mostly federal funds.

The Cal-Sag currently runs about 16 miles from Lemont to Blue Island, and the second half will stretch east to Calumet City, said Steve Buchtel, executive director of Trails for Illinois. If all goes as planned, in 2018 the Cal-Sag will be the northern leg of a mostly off-road loop that will include the Old Plank Road, Thorn Creek, Centennial and Canal trails and the Burnham and Pennsy greenways. The Burnham connects through on-street bike lanes to the 18-mile Lake-front Trail. So a determined cyclist could go all the way from Edgewater to Joliet "It's going to be huge it's going to be something that's never been before," Taylor said. "It will bring a new age of cycling once we promote it and get people to understand what it means." South Side challenge Getting people to try the Major Taylor is harder than getting them on The 606, which is shorter, Taylor said.

The area around the Major Taylor is less densely populated, and unlike The 606, which links to Milwaukee Avenue, the Far South Side trail does not connect to a major com- ZBIGNIEW BZDAKCHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTOS The Major Taylor Trail, named after an African-American champion bike racer, goes from the Dan Ryan Woods in Beverly to Whistler Woods in Riverdale. MAJOR TAYLOR TRAI AND THE SOUTHLAND CENTURY BIKE NETWORK 1 Chicago Centennial nUWpT Trail U1IL Cal-Sag extension Joy w0d Plank Road Trail jrai Lir2 Miles 2 Meanwhile, supporters keep publicizing the trail through the bike community and social media and holding group events to get more people to try it. Advocates are also talking about adding a loop to the trail through Whistler Woods. One newer visitor is Kaylin Friar, 22, an Olive Harvey College student who has biked on the northern end just a few times but plans to come back. She said it inspires her writing.

"It's really peaceful," she said. "It's for exercise, and it's to calm my mind." More rails-to-trails projects in the works are the Weber Spur on the Northwest Side through Jefferson Park and Sauga-nash, the New ERA in Englewood and the Paseo in Litde Village. mwisniewskitribpub.com Twitter marywizchicago SOURCES: Friends of Major Taylor Trail, Trails for Illinois, Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail The Major Taylor Trail, shown at Racine Avenue and 107th Street, requires cyclists to cross some busy streets. The trail's solitude adds to the feeling of insecurity: The southern end leading to the Little Calumet River is lovely but on a quiet weekday feels like Fangorn Forest in "The Lord of the Rings" vaguely unsettling. David Miller, 46, of En-glewood, comes often to Whisder Woods after work to watch for a pair of bald eagles, but the burly truck driver will not go on the trail itself.

"You don't know who's up in there," he said. Another issue is cars cyclists have to cross busy streets, such as 119th Street at Halsted Street. A gap in the trail between 95th and 105th streets requires street riding. Trail advocates have talked to the city about more stop signs. muter bike route.

No one has formally counted how many people use the trail, but a visitor on a sunny Tuesday counted five people in two hours. Alt said the trail has gotten busier in recent years, especially on weekends, and volunteers may do a formal count this summer. Another concern is crime. Taylor said the group has heard of only a few incidents in the last nine years but notes the trail is not immune from its surroundings. The group has pushed for enhanced security and signs to alert users to emergency services.

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