Scio Township Designing a New Pathway

A partnership to better connect the community has Scio Township teaming up with Washtenaw County with a proposal to put in a pathway along Scio Church Road.

To move this idea forward, the Scio Township Board at their March 24 meeting approved putting forth $50,000 toward the plan and authorizing OHM Consultants to design a pathway along the north side of Scio Church Road from Upland Drive to Oak Valley Drive.

In his report on the proposal, Scio Township Project Manager Christopher Cheng said, “The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission (WCPARC) is partnering with Scio Township to connect county residents with community resources such as parks, places of employment, and schools.”

To pay for the design work, Cheng said Scio Township was awarded a grant for $25,000 from WCPARC with matching funds of $25,000 from the Parks and Pathways millage fund.

“These funds will be used to design a pathway on the north side of Scio Church Road between Oak Valley Drive and Upland Drive, connecting nearby neighborhoods with the City of Ann Arbor, Lodi Township, and Pittsfield Township,” Cheng said in his report. “Completing the design of this pathway will allow this project to be shovel ready for the purpose of qualifying for grant opportunities and other funding options as they are made available.”

In its design proposal, OHM said “This project consists of the engineering design for an eight-foot-wide hot mix asphalt (HMA) pathway along the north side of Scio Church Road between Upland Drive and Oak Valley Drive. The pathway design will comply with the most recent guidelines for pathway construction including the American Association of State Highway Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) Guide for Development of Bicycle Facilities, the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC), and the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commission (WCWRC).”

Photo: The proposed pathway will go in along Scio Church near Upland. Photo by Lonnie Huhman