Editorial: VBT Board OKs E. Huron River Drive route for Iron Belle Trail

It wasn’t easy, but after a very long discussion on Monday and more discussion on Tuesday, the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees approved the controversial eastern route of the Iron Belle Trail through the township.
It will be going down E. Huron River Drive as first suggested last year, although a handful of residents along that route have objected. That link goes from the City of Belleville to the Metropark.
An option to take the bicycle/pedestrian trail down Martinsville Road to Savage to the ITC power lines and south to Bemis and then to the Metropark was vehemently opposed by residents of Country Pond subdivision at Monday’s meeting. Twenty people spoke against that route, although it hadn’t been recommended because of the cost.
The Iron Belle Trail runs from Belle Isle in Detroit to Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula and the VBT/Belleville segment was a missing link in the route.
At Monday’s work/study meeting, Phillip Miller of VBT, with property in the City of Belleville, said it is an honor to the township to have the trail go through and it should be promoted.
After hours and hours of discussion, the route was approved and now grant money can be utilized for the project. If those grants can be finalized and route obstacles overcome by engineers, it’s expected to take six or seven years to build through the township. Welcome, Iron Belle.