St. Joseph City Commissioners have accepted an easement on riverfront property near Corewell Health South as Friends of Berrien County Trails envisions a new St. Joseph River Trail through the area.
At a Monday meeting, commissioners heard from Mike Garey of the trails group. He said while the effort to finish the Marquette Greenway continues, the Friends are looking at how it could connect to St. Joseph. The idea is for a trail to go along the river.
“That’s the big picture of this trail system throughout Berrien County,” Garey said. “It would go from New Buffalo to Niles-Buchanan up to Berrien Springs, and then also from New Buffalo to Bridgman to St. Joe, the Twin Cities, and then going north to the county line.”
However, the project is complicated because Garey said it will require easements from private property owners all along the river. Friends of Berrien County Trails met with those property owners last week to discuss their concerns, which included privacy, security, and liability.
Chris Cook with the Friends said this trail idea is one that will take a long time to develop.
“This is the first step of what we think will be many steps and probably many years, but we had to start somewhere and this is our start,” Cook said.
Under this proposal, the city would be responsible for the section of River Trail that would pass through its limits. A trail along the river has long been in the city’s master plan.
Commissioners accepted the Corewell easement and voted to work with Friends of Berrien County Trails as the St. Joseph River Trail develops.
