Major Taylor Trail supporters seek security, crossings before linking to Cal-Sag

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Major Taylor Trail.

Battling cancer, Craig Brown finds solace on his walks along the Major Taylor Trail, a 6 1/2-mile bike and pedestrian path on the city’s Far South Side.

“You hear the birds singing — you see the dandelions and the trees,” said Brown, 59, of Beverly. “Whenever you can find peace and tranquility in the city, it’s a good thing.”

Eight years before the wildly popular 606 opened on an unused railroad bed on the Northwest Side, a rails-to-trails project named after an African-American world-champion bicycle racer was built from the Dan Ryan Woods in Beverly to Whistler Woods in Riverdale.

But unlike The 606, the Major Taylor has had trouble keeping litter and broken glass off the path, and still struggles for recognition…Please click here to read Mary Wisniewski’s story in the Tribune