McHenry County officials seek feedback on local bike path improvements

McHenry County officials are asking for the public’s feedback about local bike paths and walkways ahead of updates to the county’s master plan.

“This is the first bike plan the public will have since 1996,” said Emily Daucher, planning liaison for the McHenry County Division of Transportation.

The county is seeking feedback about bike paths ahead of releasing a new master plan in August. Officials want to know what resident prefer for walkways and bike paths, including what kind of trails and routes.

The survey released by the county is open until Thursday. It allows participants to choose what their priorities for bike paths would be, such as connectivity over maintenance; whether residents want traditional bike paths off set from the street or prefer bike lanes on roads; and how they want the paths to connect with one another.

“We want to know if people prefer one over the other,” Daucher said.

Daucher said some plans could be more expensive than others, and the division wants feedback from the public to before going ahead with a project it isn’t sure people want.

McHenry County currently is served by two main paths, one along Route 14 between Crystal Lake and Woodstock, and the Prairie Trail, which runs between Richmond and Algonquin.

Depending on what the survey finds, more trails could be added and connected throughout the county, Daucher said.