By James Hanlon

Leader Staff Writer

Polly Ann Trail traffic has quadrupled in the last couple months, Trail Manager Linda Moran estimates.  She is thrilled so many folks are getting outdoors and enjoying the multi-use linear park, a former railroad corridor that runs from Orion Township, through Oxford and Addison Township.

“We’ve had people say they have been living in Oxford for 30 years and never knew this was here. Now they are walking a couple miles every day,” Moran said.

One measure of how much more the trail is getting used is the amount of trash piling up in the trash cans. Now they have to be emptied daily. But that’s a good sign, because it means people are actually using the trash cans, “which is great!”

Moran is seeing people all over the 16.9 mile trail, not only in the populous area around Oxford Village, but way out “in the middle of nowhere.” She’s seeing moms and young kids walking and biking long distances.

Even with all this extra usage, overcrowding hasn’t been a problem and she has had no complaints of bad behavior.

But the trail has lost several funding sources since grants they were expecting have been reallocated during the crisis and the trail can’t hold in-person fundraisers at this time.

Oxford Police Chief Solwold had been wanting to do a pop-can and bottle drive for some cause since cans and bottles cannot be recycled right now, and they are just piling up in people’s houses, while the police garage has extra space it where could store them until recycling resumes.

On Friday, the Police Department posted on social media that they would be collecting cans and bottles to raise money for the trail.

The response has been enormous. Solwold estimates they have received about $4,000 worth of bottles and cans in hundreds of bags just over the weekend. “It’s phenomenal,” he said.

Folks can drop off bottles and cans at the Oxford Police Department at 22 W. Burdick by the side door to the garage in the back parking lot. They will continue collecting until the end of the month or until they run out of space.

The Polly Ann Trail is one of nine Pure Michigan trails and the only Pure Michigan trail in Southeast Michigan.

  polly ann trail