Transforming an abandoned Englewood rail line is important step to reinvigorating the community

An unused railroad corridor between West 58th Street and West 59th Street in the Englewood neighborhood is seen in this photo on Aug. 12. This is where the proposed Englewood Nature Trail, which will start near Wallace Street and end near Hoyne Avenue, will be constructed through $20 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times, Pat Nabong/Sun-Times)

It’s encouraging to see Englewood and West Englewood — two neighborhoods that have gone so long with so little — receive $20 million toward turning an abandoned railroad line into a public nature trail.

The federal grant will be used to convert the elevated former rail right-of-way that runs parallel to 59th Street into an accessible, active pathway called the Englewood Nature Trail.