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Two goals were accomplished when the Wayne County Commission voted 15-0 Oct. 1 to approve a two-year intergovernmental agreement with Northville Township: It'll be easier for bicyclists, runners and walkers to travel between I-275 and Maybury State Park, and water quality will improve in Johnson Creek and its spring-fed pond at Fish Hatchery Park.

The county will spend $194,125 of Parks Millage money to complete a nonmotorized path that will access a new entry to Maybury State Park, and pave a parking lot at Fish Hatchery Park that will eliminate sediment from entering a spring-fed pond that feeds Johnson Creek, believed to be the only trout stream in southeastern Michigan.

"These are win-win projects," said Commissioner Terry Marecki, a Livonia Republican whose 9th District covers Northville Township, Northville and most of her hometown. "Maybury is such a jewel for not only the Northville area, but the entire region. This will make it easier to reach the park. And, paving the lot will improve water quality in the pond and creek, which will impact the environment beyond the park."

That's because Johnson Creek is a tributary of the Middle Rouge River, which eventually merges with two other branches to form the Rouge River, which empties into the Detroit River.

The 17-acre Fish Hatchery Park is along the south side of Seven Mile Road, about a half-mile east of Beck Road.

The nonmotorized path will be completed along the south side of Eight Mile Road from Beck Road west about 200 feet to a new entrance at Maybury. It'll complete the final segment of pathway between Maybury and I-275, from Six Mile Road to Hines Drive through the city of Northville to the 944-acre state park.