The city of Batavia is looking to expand its stretch of the Fox River Bike Trail, with the $8 million project being recommended last month for some federal funding.
The project plans to connect two sections of trail on the river’s west side that were disconnected during the city’s $136 million upgrade of its wastewater treatment facility, according to Batavia City Administrator Laura Newman.
The project’s grant application says that the new trail will be built between the treatment facility and the river, which will improve safety for bikers and pedestrians, make for great views and stabilize the riverbank.
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, whose 11th Congressional District covers parts of Batavia, chose the project as one of 15 from across his district that he requested to be funded through the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee’s Community Project Funding program.
“The Fox River Trail has been key to the quality of life and economic development of communities along the river for decades,” Foster said. “It’s critical that we ensure it remains safe and accessible for pedestrians, cyclists and families.”
The 15 projects selected by Foster are now in the hands of the Appropriations Committee, which will decide how much each requested project gets funded.
Newman said she believes the city is likely to receive close to the full $8.16 million needed to complete the project because the city had an in-depth budget in the project’s grant application. That’s something other project proposals might not have, given the short window for applications.
“These grant opportunities come up super-fast. You don’t get much notice of it,” she said. “You usually have only a matter of a few days to put together your application.”
The city had previously applied for a state grant to fund the project, and although they were not chosen, officials were able to use estimates created during that process to flesh out the application for this federal grant.
According to that application, construction is expected to cost around $6.24 million, with engineering of various types — preliminary, design and construction — making up the rest of the project’s $8.16 million projected total cost. The city will not need to purchase any additional land to construct the path, the application says.
Currently, the Fox River Trail on the west side of the river is closed from Batavia to North Aurora while construction continues on the city’s wastewater treatment facility, according to signs around downtown Batavia.
Detour signs point bikers and pedestrians to cross the river at Clark Island and use the east side trail.
The west side trail is set to reopen in September, according to the signs in downtown. However, Newman said the path will take bikers and pedestrians onto city streets, not dedicated paths.
She called the situation “less than ideal.”
City officials appear concerned about putting more bikers on roads, as in the project’s grant application it cites safety concerns as a major reason why the project is needed. To prove the point, the application notes two “separate and tragic bicycling accidents” that took place in 2023 along the city’s stretch of Route 31, which sits on the river’s west side.
Instead of bikers having to take Route 31 and Union Street to continue along the path, the proposed project would take them along a dedicated path next to the river, according to the application.
This would likely mean it will connect a path on Shumway Avenue, which crosses over Clark Island and links to the east side trail, to where the west side trail starts again on Pamarco Drive, near Quarry Park.
The Batavia Park District recently received a $600,000 grant to construct recreational facilities, such as a skate park and fitness court, on Clark Island, so the trail’s expansion will complement other nearby improvements to the path, according to the application.
“These recreational facilities will be a draw, not only locally, but also regionally, significantly increasing pedestrian and bicycle traffic in this area of the Fox River Trail,” the application says.
Allison Niemela, executive director of the Batavia Park District, wrote a letter in support of the project, calling it a “much needed extension” of the trail that will give a more direct view of “one of the most picturesque viewpoints in Batavia.”
Jeffery Schielke, Batavia’s mayor, and Joanne Spitz, secretary and commissioner of the Batavia Active Transportation Advisory Commission, also wrote letters in support of the project.
In addition to all the benefits the path will have for city residents and those who use the Fox River Bike Trail, Newman said the project will also have an ecological impact on the river – it will improve the stability of the riverbank, helping to fight future erosion.
In Schielke’s letter of support, he said the city is already planning to do riverbank stabilization work as a part of its sustainability plans, so the project will further those goals.
The path extension project is also one of the objectives of the city’s current Strategic Action Plan, he said in the letter, and it is consistent with recommendations in the city’s Bike and Pedestrian Plan.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
