N. Branch Trail extension breaks ground

North Branch Trail users heading south will no longer need to stop at Devon Ave. 

Recently, Active Trans was on hand for the groundbreaking on a three-mile extension of the extremely popular trail. 

The first 1.8 mile segment will extend south from Caldwell and Devon Aves. in Chicago to Forest Glen with completion expected in spring 2016.

The second phase will include an additional 1.2 miles of paved trail ending at Gompers Park near the FPCC’s LaBaugh Woods and Irene C. Hernandez Picnic Grove at Foster Ave.

The whole segment is a key piece of the region’s bikeways network. When completed, it will connect existing suburban trails and the coming Weber Spur Trail to Chicago’s on-street bikeways.  

In recent years, Active Trans has been helping make this extension of the North Branch Trail a reality. Our Bikeways For All plan provides a vision of a low-stress bike network that focuses on protected bike lanes, neighborhood greenways and urban trails — such as the North Branch Trail.

39th Ward Ald. Margaret Laurino was on hand at the groundbreaking, as was Forest Preserves of Cook County General Superintendent Arnold Randall, as well as representatives from U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley’s office, the Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Sauganash Chamber of Commerce. 

As Ald. Laurino said at the groundbreaking, the building of trail segments like this takes time. “The Interstate was not built over night,” she said. “It was done in pieces. With the North Branch Extension, more trails will be connected in the city and suburbs.”