The Frederik Meijer M-6 Trail, formerly called the M-6 Trail, is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

in Kent County, Michigan. It connects the Paul Henry-Thornapple Rail Trail with the

Kent Trails Kent Trails is a fifteen-mile rail trail in Kent County, Michigan that runs through the cities of Grand Rapids, Grandville, Walker, Wyoming and Byron Township and is part of a network of trails in and around Grand Rapids. It runs north and sou ...

Byron Township, Michigan Byron Township is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,317 at the 2010 census, an increase from 17,553 at the 2000 census. Byron Township is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is l ...

Description

The trail starts at a junction with the Kent Trails west of Byron Center Avenue in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

. The trail runs along the north side of the M-6 freeway to Clyde Park Avenue. The trail follows Clyde Park south to 68th Street where it terminates. Cyclists can continue along 68th Street over the US Highway 131 (US 131) freeway to Clay Avenue and north along Clay to the trail on the south side of M-6. The trail continues east over Division Avenue to Eastern Avenue where it crosses back over to the north side of the freeway. The eastern end is at Wing Avenue and 60th Street in Kentwood, at the Paul Henry-Thornapple Rail Trail.

History

The M-6 Trail was constructed in a $3.5 million project that started in 2008. The goal was to create a path linking the

with the Paul Henry-Thornapple Rail Trail. The M-6 Trail was the brainchild of Gaines Township Supervisor Don Hilton, Sr. He had pushed to have the path included in the original freeway construction and opened with the rest of the South Beltline. The trail project was funded by $2.9 million in federal grants and $300,000 from the Frederik and Lena Meijer Foundation. The balance came from Kent County and the townships. Work on the first phase was completed in June 2008. This segment connected the Kent Trails with 68th Street in Byron Township. Work on the second phase of the trail between Division Avenue and 60th Street was completed in November 2008. The remaining segment of the trail is a third phase for a dedicated trail along 68th Street and Clay Avenue to bridge the gap between Clyde Park and Division avenues remains incomplete. This segment was projected to cost between $750,000 and $1.5 million in 2008. One challenge to the segment is crossing an active

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

rail line near US 131 and M-6.

Safety

On July 9, 2011, cyclist Larry Martin Sr. was struck and killed at the Byron Center crossing. This prompted the installation of West Michigan's first ghostbike. A coalition of agencies (the Kent County Road Commission, Kent County Parks, the City of Wyoming, and the

Michigan Department of Transportation The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstat ...

) met to discuss what could be done to enhance the safety of this trail crossing. The first improvement was the installation of a "countdown" signal, which relays to trail users the amount of time remaining to get across the seven traffic lanes before the signal turns green for Bryon Center Road. Since the two westbound freeway exit lanes are allowed an uncontrolled right turn on red, the next step was to reposition the trail crossing, moving it several hundred yards further north to connect with an existing city sidewalk and traffic signal. This work was slated to occur in June 2012.

References

{{Coord, 42.85348, -85.71743, type:landmark_region:US-MI, display=title Protected areas of Kent County, Michigan Hiking trails in Michigan Bike paths in Michigan Transportation in Kent County, Michigan