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1—Trail Usage Estimates
There is no definitive measure of traffic on the Prairie Path at this time from ipp.org. See expert quotes and a 2013 study link below.
It is likely an underestimate to say 75,000 people are using the path system at peak times in 2022 based on the 2013 study and excluding the 20% increase due to COVID-19. By this conservative measure, 5,000 users for the East Branch DuPage River Trail seems a modest number for peak times with an increase to 10,000 when The Trail connects to the Prairie Path and/or the Morton Arboretum. This estimate would make the EBDRT spur the least used based on the 2013 study.
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“More than 800,000 users now visit the trail each year,” says Deborah Fagan, chief planner and county trail system coordinator for DuPage County, “And they have many directions to explore.” The Illinois Prairie PathArticle posted Posted 08/01/08 –––––––––––––––––––––––––Illinois Praire Path-Trail-Survey-2013.pdf listed a total 732,093 trail users over an 8-10 week span from late July to mid-October 2013. This is a significant increase from 2008 over a very limited span of time.
Making Trails Count: Illinois Prairie Path
––––––––––––––––––––––––– “Sidney Kenyon made a similar observation. Kenyon, a senior transportation planner at the DuPage County Department of Transportation, manages major trail systems in the county, including the Illinois Prairie Path. He had been tracking traffic on the path as part of a two-year trail-counting program when the pandemic hit.
“The path almost functions as a pathway to well-being because it has a connection to nature that is so strongly rooted within its character,” Kenyon said.
By the end of summer when peak season was coming to a close, officials estimated an overall increase in trail usage of 20%, with bicycle use up 10% to 20% system wide, according to Kenyon. He noted that more younger people were using the trails, including student athletes and young families who had nowhere to send their kids.”
How Covid-19 transformed an Illinois Trail into a Pathway to Mental HealthDecember 2, 2020
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It is likely an underestimate to say 75,000 people are using the path system at peak times in 2022 based on the 2013 study and excluding the 20% increase due to COVID-19. By this conservative measure, 5,000 users for the East Branch DuPage River Trail seems a modest number for peak times with an increase to 10,000 when The Trail connects to the Prairie Path and/or the Morton Arboretum. This estimate would make the EBDRT spur the least used based on the 2013 study.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––
“More than 800,000 users now visit the trail each year,” says Deborah Fagan, chief planner and county trail system coordinator for DuPage County, “And they have many directions to explore.” The Illinois Prairie PathArticle posted Posted 08/01/08 –––––––––––––––––––––––––Illinois Praire Path-Trail-Survey-2013.pdf listed a total 732,093 trail users over an 8-10 week span from late July to mid-October 2013. This is a significant increase from 2008 over a very limited span of time.
Making Trails Count: Illinois Prairie Path
––––––––––––––––––––––––– “Sidney Kenyon made a similar observation. Kenyon, a senior transportation planner at the DuPage County Department of Transportation, manages major trail systems in the county, including the Illinois Prairie Path. He had been tracking traffic on the path as part of a two-year trail-counting program when the pandemic hit.
“The path almost functions as a pathway to well-being because it has a connection to nature that is so strongly rooted within its character,” Kenyon said.
By the end of summer when peak season was coming to a close, officials estimated an overall increase in trail usage of 20%, with bicycle use up 10% to 20% system wide, according to Kenyon. He noted that more younger people were using the trails, including student athletes and young families who had nowhere to send their kids.”
How Covid-19 transformed an Illinois Trail into a Pathway to Mental HealthDecember 2, 2020
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2—DuPAGE County Presentation
3—Attractive Nuisance
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/attractive_nuisance_doctrine
Attractive Nuisance Doctrine Attractive nuisance is a dangerous condition on a landowner's property that may particularly attract children onto the land and pose a risk to their safety. In tort law, the attractive-nuisance doctrine imposes a duty on property owners to treat trespassing children the same as an invitee, and as a result, must exercise reasonable care to eliminate potential dangers or provide adequate warning. As the Supreme Court of Texas has stated, the rationale behind the doctrine is that a device of unusually attractive nature may be "especially alluring to children of tender years" thereby impliedly inviting children to come upon the premise, and by such invitation, the children should be considered invitees instead of trespassers.
Furthermore, because the doctrine may impose a substantial burden on property owners, it is generally narrowly construed to not include common or ordinary objects like walls, fences, or gates.
According to the Restatement (Second) of Torts, a possessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm to children trespassing thereon caused by an artificial condition upon the land if: * The place where the condition exists is one upon which the possessor knows or has reason to know that children are likely to trespass; and * The condition is one of which the possessor knows or has reason to know will involve an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm to such children; and * The children do not discover or realize the risk involved in intermeddling or coming within the dangerous area; and * The utility to the possessor of maintaining the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight compared with the risk to the children involved, and; * The possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger or otherwise to protect the children.
See e.g., Kessler v. Mortenson, 16 P.3d 1225 (Utah 2000)
Whether particular features or property are deemed an attractive nuisance is based on circumstances of the case and the factors mentioned above. For example, Indiana has held that the doctrine does not apply to swimming pools, unless they include some hidden or latent danger, because children generally understand the risks of drowning. On the other hand, it has been held that a junkyard may constitute an attractive nuisance if not properly maintained, because it may entice young children to play among the debris and expose them to risk of injury.
While the attractive-nuisance doctrine is generally asserted to injured children who are too young to appreciate potential risks, adults may invoke the doctrine when seeking damages for their own injuries suffered in an attempt to rescue a child from a danger created by the defendant's attractive nuisance.
Attractive Nuisance Doctrine Attractive nuisance is a dangerous condition on a landowner's property that may particularly attract children onto the land and pose a risk to their safety. In tort law, the attractive-nuisance doctrine imposes a duty on property owners to treat trespassing children the same as an invitee, and as a result, must exercise reasonable care to eliminate potential dangers or provide adequate warning. As the Supreme Court of Texas has stated, the rationale behind the doctrine is that a device of unusually attractive nature may be "especially alluring to children of tender years" thereby impliedly inviting children to come upon the premise, and by such invitation, the children should be considered invitees instead of trespassers.
Furthermore, because the doctrine may impose a substantial burden on property owners, it is generally narrowly construed to not include common or ordinary objects like walls, fences, or gates.
According to the Restatement (Second) of Torts, a possessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm to children trespassing thereon caused by an artificial condition upon the land if: * The place where the condition exists is one upon which the possessor knows or has reason to know that children are likely to trespass; and * The condition is one of which the possessor knows or has reason to know will involve an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm to such children; and * The children do not discover or realize the risk involved in intermeddling or coming within the dangerous area; and * The utility to the possessor of maintaining the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight compared with the risk to the children involved, and; * The possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger or otherwise to protect the children.
See e.g., Kessler v. Mortenson, 16 P.3d 1225 (Utah 2000)
Whether particular features or property are deemed an attractive nuisance is based on circumstances of the case and the factors mentioned above. For example, Indiana has held that the doctrine does not apply to swimming pools, unless they include some hidden or latent danger, because children generally understand the risks of drowning. On the other hand, it has been held that a junkyard may constitute an attractive nuisance if not properly maintained, because it may entice young children to play among the debris and expose them to risk of injury.
While the attractive-nuisance doctrine is generally asserted to injured children who are too young to appreciate potential risks, adults may invoke the doctrine when seeking damages for their own injuries suffered in an attempt to rescue a child from a danger created by the defendant's attractive nuisance.
4—Source
The Bike 53 Kenyon held a private meeting with Sidney Kenyon, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner, DuPage County DOT, June 28, 2022. Mr. Kenyon related specifics on EBDRT, DuPage County planning, and trail finance.
5—Eminent DOMAIN
Sidney Kenyon, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner, DuPage County DOT, was asked about DuPage County acquiring land in the June 22, 2022 public forum and the June 28, 2022 meeting with the Bike 53 committee.
Both times Mr. Kenyon stated the eminent domain cannot be used to acquire private land.
6—Homeless
The Maryknoll Estates Homeowner’s Association regularly deals with homeless encampments in the triangle of land south of Roosevelt Road and east of the DuPage River along I-355. Homeless live here and use the restrroms at Holes and Knolls to clean up.
The Maryknoll Board last called the County Sheriff and Forest Preserve during spring of 2022 for a cleanup. Once the folliage greens up, it’s difficult to see if the camp has returned until fall.