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Island Trail: 1st leg ready for opening
By MARGOT MOHSBERG, Kent Island Staff Writer After nearly two years of preparations, the first section of the Cross Island Trail will finally be complete next month. The 6-mile hiker-biker trail across Kent Island, which has already been drawing throngs of visitors, is the first of its kind in Queen Anne's County. "We
expect it will probably become the county's most popular facility and be
a tremendous draw for the county and its attractions along the trail,"
said Steve Davis, deputy director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
After the dedication ceremony, residents can grab their bikes, skates and walking shoes for a 4-mile trek to Terrapin Nature Park. Those who don't want to walk the whole way can hop on a bus that will take them to the end of the route or back to their cars at the Kent Narrows. The east-west trail spans Kent Island from the shores of the Chesapeake at Terrapin Nature Park to the Chesapeake Exploration Center at Kent Narrows. It runs through or past Old Love Point Park, the Percy Thomas Senior Center, Kent Island High School, Kent Island Shopping Center, Castle Marina Road and the Kent Narrows Boat Launch. "On the trail, you can commune with nature," said County Commissioner Marlene Davis, D-Queenstown, who toured a section of it near Piney Creek Road last week with her fellow commissioners. "With all of the plants and birds, it just gives you the sense that you are in a rural area." (Note from KIDL: You ARE in a rural area; the trail is now surrounded by forested areas, corn and soy bean fields. These will soon be replaced by 1350-unit Four Seasons and 750-unit Gibson's Grant. We wonder if it'll still give Mrs. Davis "the sense that you are in a rural area.") All but one property owner along the path donated 25- to 50-foot-wide easements, Mr. Davis said. The county is still negotiating with the one remaining owner. The county has paid half of the $1.2 million cost of the trail so far, with the rest coming from U.S. Department of Transportation Enhancement Funds, the state Department of Natural Resources and Program Open Space. Within the next year, the trail will be expanded to Bayside and Kent Island elementary schools as well as the Stevensville Public Library. Also within the year, county parks officials, in conjunction with the State Highway Administration's effort to improve Route 8, will begin planning an expansion of the trail along Route 8 to Romancoke. Commissioner John McQueeney, R-Stevensville, who often visits the trail with his young son, said he believes the trail is a welcome addition to the county. "I
see organizations, such as Adopt-A-Pet, using the trail to hold benefit
runs and walks," he said. "Even at my age, I'm thinking about getting some
rollerblades."
Published August 22, 2001, The
Capital, Annapolis, Md.
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