Some say Sleeping Bear Dunes bike trail too fast

GLEN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- The first five-mile stretch of a 27-mile bike-and-hike trail opens this week in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and some area residents say they fear asphalt surface will make it more of a speedway than a path.

In January, the Lake Michigan shoreline park received a $1.3 million federal transportation grant to continue work on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. Phase 1 opens Wednesday between Glen Arbor and Empire.

U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow are among those promoting the project as an improvement to the park.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle says the Little Traverse Bay Property Owners Association and Sleeping Bear Naturally have raised concerns about the pavement and the width of the trail.