Here’s the money paragraph from the Herald-News article:

“Klaas said the move is a reflection of societal attitudes toward getting people to walk and bike more, for reasons of personal health and cutting down on use of their cars. Highway Committee Chairman Robert Davidson said it also reflects the state’s new guidelines that include bike trail construction along all highway projects.”

WOW:

1. A highway department acknowledges their constituents’ rising desire for a physically active, sustainable lifestyle

2. And they recognize their own role as a public agency in satisfying that

3. AND…they credit IDOT as an inspiration for this policy

The amount they propose to set aside, $50K/year, is modest. But it’s local money, with the flexibility to pay for projects or provide the required local match for federal trail grants (like Yorkville’s Push for the Path is trying to raise). Fifty thou can be a difference maker.

But the bigger news is the broadened perspective of the Kendall County highway department. The lid just came off of what’s possible today. 

Your job: post some praise for Kendall County, post it far and wide. Change is in the air.