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Logansport's Little Turtle Waterway is Finalist in National Contest - June 12, 2003
California-based National Bicycle Greenway Mayor's Ride Visits Indy via the Monon - June 2,2003
122-Mile Trail Possible in Central Indiana? - May 29, 2003
Sweeter Switch Trail Extended 2 Miles Westward - May 29, 2003
Lake Michigan Heritage Greenway Planned through Michigan City - April 14, 2003
Ohio River Corridor Initiative - February 3, 2003
Northwest Indiana Project Summary - January 9, 2003
Eel River/Logansport/Cass County Trail Project Summary - January 9, 2003
The Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit organization advocating the merits of well-designed community parks, plazas and greenways, has nominated Logansport's Little Turtle Waterway as a finalist in their "Best New Park" category for 2003. This modest county seat's project in the heart of the Hoosier state is now classified with parks in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Houston and others in the final running. Congratulations to Mercedes Brugh, Chair of the Little Turtle Waterway Corp., and the city of Logansport.
The Little Turtle Waterway is a 5-block long interpretive, multi-use trail from the Little Turtle Waterway Plaza to the confluence of the Wabash & Eel Rivers, including a 4.75 acre festival area along the north bank of the Wabash River. The Plaza, dedicated in 1999, was recipient of a 2001 American Society of Landscape Architects (Indiana chapter) Merit award. The entrance to the Plaza is adorned with a refurbished railroad signal bridge. A rare, hard-won non-motorized railroad crossing provides access to the area at the south end of 4th Street. A high limestone terrace, decorative cast iron street lamps, benches, and brick paving are other handsome details of the Plaza.
Eventually the waterway trail will connect with a network of trails and parks including the Eel River Bluff Trail, Stonewall Park and the Hervey Preserve.
Read more about the Little Turtle Waterway
A group of bike & trail advocates based in Santa Cruz, CA pedaled through Indianapolis on May 23 during their annual cross-country Mayor's Ride. The group's mission is to define a series of connected bike routes and trails across America. Valley Bikes, a recumbent bike shop on the Monon in Carmel, was the local sponsor and gracious host of the riders for two nights. Read more about NBG and their stop in Indianapolis.
The town of Sweetser has extended their rail-trail another 2 miles to the west, from Main Street to Grant County Rd. 700W, making the total length 3 miles and becoming the state's 122nd and 123rd mile of open rail-trail. This handsome, well-tended asphalt path features old railcars at the Main Street trailhead, bird boxes, lush landscaping, solar lights, interesting signage, and a picnic shelter with an old-fashioned water pump. The first mile of this trail was constructed with entirely donated resources in less than 1 year from conception to opening, a remarkable feat which may still remain unparalleled anywhere in the nation.
Work on the newest section
of the trail over the Pipe Creek Bridge
Merely 16 miles to the west of the newly extended Sweetser Switch Trail, at the town of Bunker Hill, lies a stop along one of the state's longest rail-trail projects, the Nickel Plate Trail from Kokomo to Rochester. The unused rail corridor from Sweetser to Bunker Hill, once part of the Columbus-Kenneth Mainline, was abandoned by Conrail in 1984 and ownership should be cleared in a court settlement later this year. If this 16 mile stretch were converted into a trail, a nearly continuous 122-mile multi-use trail could be created from Richmond to Rochester, employing the Cardinal Greenway, Sweetser Switch Trail and most of the Nickel Plate Trail. There is currently an 11-mile break between Jonesboro and Gaston along the Cardinal Greenway which diverts trail users off the former rail line and onto quiet backroads. A short break between the Cardinal Greenway in Marion and the Sweetser Switch Trail is expected to be completed as a trail in the next few years. The 16-mile stretch between Sweetser and Bunker Hill is mostly intact with a few short sections suffering agricultural disturbance. As with all trail projects in Indiana, a significant local effort would be necessary to make this happen, this one largely involving Grant and Miami Counties.
American Discovery Trail
The northern leg of the cross-country American Discovery Trail currently passes near all of these towns, but it is only an off-road trail along the Cardinal Greenway. Completing a 16-mile rail-trail link between Sweetser and Bunker Hill could put this epic trail completely off the roads for most of its northern leg through the state of Indiana.
Looking Eastward
Looking eastward from Richmond, only about 20 miles lies between the future Cardinal Greenway on the city's east side and the Wolf Creek Rail-Trail just west of Dayton, Ohio. From there a trail user will be able to reach Cleveland, Ohio along nothing but multi-use trails as of about 2005, using the near-complete Ohio-to-Erie Trails system. Another continuous trail system just to the east of Cleveland is emerging which will connect Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, D.C.
Michigan City is hoping to develop a major rail-trail across Laporte County, which would connect Porter County to the state line and complete the northeastern segment of the planned Lake Michigan Heritage Greenway around the southern tip of the lake. This year they have applied for a $1.3 million grant to develop a trail from the Laporte/Porter County Line, where the Calumet Trail currently ends, to Washington Park nearly 3 miles to the northeast. Once in Washington Park, the trail would connect users to attractions such as the lake, an historic lighthouse, and Washington Park Zoo. The second stage of trail development would be another rail-trail paralleling US12 from Washington Park to the state line.
To get from Illinois to Michigan, future trail users would begin either on the Erie-Lackwanna trail in Hammond or the planned Pennsy Greenway in Munster, connect to the Oak Savannah Trail in Griffith through Gary to Hobart, then get on the Prairie Duneland from Hobart to Chesterton, then hop on a short planned connector through Porter to the Calumet Trail, and finally ride from the end of the Calumet Trail through Michigan City along their recently planned rail-trails, roughly a 40 mile trip in all.
See the Northwest Indiana regional trails map.
It may seem like common sense that balancing economic interests, recreational uses, and natural resource preservation would be a region-wide dialogue, and that recreational assets and sound environmental stewardship attract talented, young workers to select communities. But in fact this contemporary logic escapes planning officials on many levels. One group which puts this thinking right on their front page is the Ohio River Corridor Initiative. Their vision is to develop and coordinate a strategic plan for a 150+ mile linear park from Madison, Indiana to Maysville, Kentucky, including multiple-use trails, restoration of the riverbanks, and conservation of the natural resources.
The Hillforest House Museum
in Aurora, and the Riverwalk in Lawrenceburg are ready attractions for the proposed
corridor.
The group, comprised of a board, action teams and support committees, was organized last year and is currently strategizing to meet certain 5-year goals including:
The National Park Service has agreed to provide technical and planning assistance for the proposed greenway and trail system. The ORCI group is also working toward becoming a not-for -profit organization.
Other Ohio
River trail initiatives in Indiana include the Ohio River
Greenway of Jefferson/Clarksville/New Albany and another section of greenway
in Newburgh
and Warrick County.
The Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) Bikeways Committee met last October 24 to discuss long-term, long-distance trail options for the area. View the NW Indiana projects map. The following summary is from the Chesterton Tribune and other sources:
Major Corridors
The current priority corridors, identified through a similar review process eight years ago, are the Erie Lackawana and Grand Calumet in Lake County; the Oak Savannah and Prairie Duneland in Porter County, the latter serving Chesterton now and Porter in the future; and the Little Calumet/Calumet that spans both counties. The long-neglected Calumet Trail north of U.S. 12 in Porter County that winds through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore recently reopened following a major renovation. In 1994, the region’s missing trail linkages were identified as and still are Hobart to Valparaiso, Chesterton to Valparaiso, Valparaiso to LaPorte, and Michigan City to LaPorte. Gary Babcoke of Friends of Chesterton Parks emphasized looking at the broader picture to assure Hoosier trailheads are built to connect to the Illinois and Michigan trail systems as well.Lake County
The 11-mile Oak Savannah Trail, connecting Griffith and Hobart, is finally scheduled to open this year. Mitch Barloga of Crown Point said a $12.3 million Pennsy Greenway trail is proposed for 15 miles of abandoned railroad right-of-way from Crown Point to Lansing, Ill. The trail is estimated to serve an immediate population of 109,000 and would connect directly to the 450-mile Burnham Greenway/Grand Illinois trail system in Illinois generating the potential to serve millions. It would be the first off-road, bi-state link in the region, and would become part of the American Discovery Trail network. The trail would link the communities of Crown Point, Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Lansing (IL), and ultimately, Chicago.Laporte County
Laura New of Michigan City Parks said that city has the backing of Mayor Sheila Brillson to develop a more-defined trail system that would connect to existing trail routes in Michigan. Both the city and LaPorte County have less than desirable shared-road bikeways, said New, and planning is underway to develop separated trails to LaPorte and south county. Trails from Michigan City east to South Bend and eventually Michigan also were suggested, prompting the suggestion to contact the Michiana Area Council of Governments for a trail status report there. Porter County, too, has a signed bikeway route using county roads, but some present said they are not always safe.Porter County
Tim Cole of the Porter County Parks Foundation said his group proposes an off-road trail between Sunset Hill on Meridian Road at U.S. 6 and a 19-acre wetland on the west side of Meridian Road south of Porter Avenue in Chesterton. The Parks Foundation has acquired the parcel, which will become a new county park where a floating platform and observation deck will be built over a peat bog, funding permitting, for educational outreach. Because Meridian is hilly and heavily traveled, Cole said using County Road 50W or an old Interurban Railway right-of-way for the trail is being considered. He also said four Duneland schools are within one mile of the future wetlands park, and that he would encourage greater involvement in the project by the Chesterton Park Department. The Sunset Hill trail would end near the Prairie Duneland. Porter County Parks Superintendent Ed Melendez said the trail crossing at U.S. 6 will require close cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. Mike O’Loughlin of INDOT, present Thursday, said letting the agency know well ahead of road reconstruction that trail plans are being developed is necessary. Melendez also said possible trails are being studied through Sunset Hill from County Road 700N.Gary
Among the other trails suggested was one through the city of Gary to connect natural resource areas. Gary representative Dorreen Carey expressed concern that “continually I hear people talking about going south to make a (trail) connection.” She said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and local area leaders support a trail hugging the Lake Michigan shoreline.Valparaiso, others
Those present also noted the need to develop trail links to Kouts, LaPorte and Hobart. Denarie Kane of Hobart suggested using a parallel bikeway along Indiana 130 to link that city to Valparaiso. Jan Dick of Valparaiso’s Pathway Committee said a new 1 1/2-mile dedicated trail beside Meridian to Rogers-Lakewood Park is built, but safe connections need to be made to Sunset Hill and other parts of the city. Kane said in the committee’s deliberations on which trails to designate as priorities, whether they connect population centers and would utilize existing abandoned rights-of-way, rivers, utility corridors or road easements should be a primary consideration. An example later given was the Wabash rail right-of-way that might link Westville to Chesterton. New said she would investigate a 1978 agreement with the South Shore Railroad and Northern Indiana Public Service Co. to use their rights-of-way for a pedestrian trail.
Cass County/Logansport Trail Project Summary -
January 9, 2003
Logansport Memorial Hospital and Memorial Hospital Foundation, working with
interested community patrons, continue to work toward the common goal of developing
The Eel River Bluff Trail, a multi-use trail
on the approximately 45 acres of land near Memorial Hospital, just across Michigan
Avenue. The property, a portion of which has been donated by former Logansport
resident Kristin Dixon, runs near Horney Creek and Michigan Avenue east of the
hospital, and extends from Smith Street south to a point near the north bank
of the Eel River. This trail roughly follows the path of the former Vandalia
Railroad Line that ran from Logansport to South Bend through Culver.
Part of the Little Turtle Waterway
Master Plan, Memorial's trails project encompasses two phases:
* Phase 1 - Develop the River Bluff Trail, a multi-use trail that will extend
along the Eel River between Davis and Michigan Road for 1.3 miles, following
the path of an abandoned railway bed and hugging the north bank of the Eel.
The trail will allow for a handicapped accessible kayak and canoe launch at
the western end, along with parking. Three bridges along the trail will
be rebuilt, with the largest of those, over Horney Creek, accommodating a lookout
over the river to Riverside Park and the Dentzel Carousel.
* Phase 2 - Develop natural trails in the 40-acre Hervey Preserve located East
of Michigan Avenue between the Eel River and Smith Street. The Foundation has
applied for a grant from the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Outdoor
Recreation, and is also in the process of planning a fundraising campaign for
this project. For more information, call 753-1595.
Looking east along the Eel River just west of downtown Logansport
Last Fall the Memorial Hospital Foundation
received the maximum allowable grant of $150,000 in federal funding through
the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Outdoor Recreation,
for the Foundation's River Bluff Trail Project. The competition was stiff, with
only 3.5 projects receiving funding out of 22 applicants. There is much
work to do before ground is broken sometime late in the summer of 2003. Further
archaeological study is required, along with environmental work and in-depth
design and planning.
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