New WCC bike path goes under the radar

By Ian D. Loomis
Staff Writer

If a new path opens and no one is around to enjoy it, does it really make a difference?

The opening of WCC’s new non-motorized pathway, which runs a half mile down Huron River Drive, past Clark Road, was an installation two years in the making. The path is a segment of a larger initiative for a border-to-border trail spanning all of Washtenaw County.

The $453,470 bike path was funded by a grant from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments with the contribution and cooperation of the college, to provide transportation alternatives and add to the accessibility and safety of campus. It makes WCC the only two-year institution to gain the title of “Bike-Friendly Campus” by the League of American Bicyclists.

And yet, after those two years of discussion and buildup, it seems to have gone under the radar at Washtenaw. Many staff and faculty haven’t heard of it— not the cycling enthusiast professors, and not even the Sustainability Council here at WCC.

“I can see [the path] being extremely useful for bikers and drivers alike in the Ypsilanti area,” says Ashanti Campbell, a WCC student and Ypsilanti resident who has used the path regularly since its completion. “Bikers now have safe space to commute and drivers can worry less about bikers in the middle of the road.”

Biking has seen a burst of popularity since the pandemic, with bicycle shops around the country reporting high demand and in some cases, selling out of bikes completely, according to National Public Radio. Learn more about the border-to-border trail on the county parks website (includes maps and bike safety information) and the Huron Pathways Initiative, or how to connect with trails outside the county.

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