Article from the Noblesville
Daily Times - January 30, 2004 - by Michelle Evans
Teresa Otis Skelton, Westfield Town Council President
Beds and breakfasts, pedestrian friendly retail shops and tables dotting the sidewalks outside of local eateries could become the future image visitors take away of Westfield if a nearby multiuse pedestrian trail is developed. The Midland Trace Trail, which runs about 1,000 feet south of State Road 32, could eventually connect nearly all of Westfield’s schools, parks, town hall and downtown by foot. Melody Sweat,Washington Township’s parks director, envisions that trails like the proposed Monon and Midland Trace would make Westfield a closer knit community. “I think it will be a boost to downtown all the way around,” Sweat said, referring to the potential recreational, economic and quality of impacts the trail could bring to Westfield citizens. Town Council President Teresa Otis Skelton said the trail could create a village setting with ice cream parlors, coffeehouses, sandwich shops and bicycle stores along the abandoned corridor. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for some of the existing small businesses to take advantage of pedestrian traffic,” Skelton said. “We have some that are very near where that would be running. When you have the social connection, the economic tends to follow.”
First steps
The town and township signed a contract this month with Indianapolisbased Butler
Fairman Seufert to design the entire length of the north-south Monon Trail,
the Midland Trace Trail from Oak Ridge Road to Gray Road and the connectivity
of trails. The feasibility project will take approximately four to six months
to complete. The entities will use a $950,000 grant awarded in December to build
out the first section of the proposed Monon Trail from 146th Street, where Carmel’s
section ends, to 156th Street. Although there is no money set aside to
develop the Midland immediately, a quarter-mile portion of the trail east of
downtown Westfield could be completed in just over a year as part of a commercial
and residential development. Bob Barker, of commercial developer Flynn &
Zinkan, cautions that the trail’s development depends on the timing of
decisions made by town officials. “We want to sequence the improvements
for trail with improvements being made elsewhere,” Barker said. “…
We’ll follow the lead of the town.” Flynn & Zinkan’s Westfield
Marketplace, located on the southeast corner of State Road 32 and Carey Road,
will feature a future Kroger, Hallmark Gift Shop, Great Clips, Blockbuster Video,
nail salon, apparel retailer, car wash, bank and casual eateries. Unlike other
strip malls, though, its southern border will be with the Midland. That project
is part of a larger 700- dwelling residential element being developed south
of the commercial property by Langston Development. Staff at Flynn &
Zinkan hope to encourage use of the trail that runs along the development’s
southern boundary by creating a plaza area with a water feature, decorative
sidewalks, benches, bike racks and 100 extra parking spaces in the rear of the
development dedicated to trail users. “One issue we’re aware
of is a lack of parking,” Barker said. “The Monon is wonderful and
so many people enjoy it, but it’s difficult to find a place to park your
car and unload your bicycle.” The trail also will run adjacent to
the project’s nature preserve and park showcasing Indiana’s native
vegetation as well as connect into neighboring Oak Manor. Besides becoming
an attraction for Westfield, Barker said the trail will become an important
economic development tool. “It’s certainly an amenity that will
get a lot of use,” Barker said. “It’s a positive image for the
community. I think this will help fuel growth from a quality of life aspect.We
know that in terms of the Monon in Carmel.”
Monon’s revitalizing effect
Carmel Mayor James Brainard said the Monon coupled with the city’s multiyear
City Center project and the redevelopment commission’s investment into
Old Town have breathed new life into the community. “It’s been a wonderful
amenity,” Brainard said. “It allows for the City of Carmel to compete
against other cities across the nation that have a well-developed rail-to-trail
system. It also provides a place for exercise and meeting ones neighbors."
As many as 10,000 bicyclists and runners have used the north-south Monon Trail
that bisects Carmel in a day's time, Brainard said. The entire 5.5-mile stretch
of the Monon, which connects the City Center, Old Town and the future Central
Park, opened in November 2001. The pathway has had a "tremendous impact"
on the city and the dollars and cents in particular, Brainard said. In downtown
new stores like Valley Bikes, Bub's Burgers and Ice Cream, Muldoon's of Carmel
and Mirans Café have opened near Carmel's Main Street in storefronts
where multiple businesses have come and gone before. New homes west of the Monon
and the still developing AMLI 12-unit town home project with street-level retail
shops along the Monon have created a prominent residential element downtown.
Those homeowners adjacent to the Monon Trail use the pathway as a selling point
in For Sale ads and have reaped the benefits of what developers call a landlocked
state's version of oceanfront property. "It's not only that it brings more
people by businesses, but it makes the city more vibrant," said Nancy Heck,
the city's community relations director. People are more likely to hop off a
bike to shop in a downtown store, she said, and stop to talk to neighbors more
frequently than if they were traveling in automobiles.
Moving forward
Carmel resident Kevin Heber, a user of the Monon, believes the Midland could
have the same revitalizing effect on Westfield's downtown as the Monon did in
Carmel. "Just before the trail opened, you never saw people out and about
in the downtown area on foot," Heber said of Carmel. "Now it's an
area for people to hang out. I think Westfield is very aware of that and that
they could use that sort of revitalization in its downtown as well." For
the last two years, the trail enthusiast has served on a small committee of
Westfield and Noblesville residents aimed at selling the vision for the Midland
to public officials, the general public and the 30 landowners who currently
own the property where the rail bed lies. The project has gained significant
momentum in recent months, with Westfield and Washington Township's monetary
commitment to fund the feasibility study, news of the near million dollar grant
in December and the January announcement that Noblesville will be reviewing
possible consultant firms to help apply for a state grant to construct the trail.
Although the Oak Manor commercial and residential developers estimate that the
first quarter-mile section of the Midland could be completed in a little over
a year, the financial dividends won't come in overnight. Without the trail extending
further west beyond Oak Manor and into downtown Westfield, the first section
of the eight-foot path would be nothing more than a road to nowhere. Jim Langston
of Langston Development, which will complete the residential section of the
Oak Manor mixed-use project, doesn't doubt the Midland eventually will become
appealing for homebuyers like that experienced in Carmel. "It's definitely
a draw, but it's only a draw when it goes somewhere," he said. Langston
hopes the town will take proactive steps to close the gap between Carey Road
and Union Street by extending the Midland west through Carey Commons subdivision,
the public works department campus and onto the Natalie Wheeler Trail, which
runs adjacent to Union Street. Until then, he waits. "At this point we're
kind of an island out there," Langston said.
Article by Michelle Evans,
Noblesville Daily Times
Contact for Midland Trace or website: midland@indianatrails.org
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