There are many ways elected officials can address quality of life issues in the communities in which they serve. Locally, creating walking and bicycle trails in various Henry County locations was one of the ways it’s been done.
Jeff Ray, trails coordinator for Healthy Communities of Henry County, said the history of the Wilbur Wright Trail on New Castle’s north side can be traced as far back as 2004 when an application was made for a Transportation Alternatives Program grant through the Indiana Department of Transportation. Work associated with designing and engineering the trail then took place followed by the time it took to acquire the land and rights of way needed for the trail’s construction. It was actually 2012 before construction of the trail began.
“The public has really taken to the trail,” Ray said. “You’ll find a lot of people on the trail just about every day. The weather plays a part in how busy it is, but most days you’ll find a lot of people out there walking or riding their bikes. That’s very gratifying from my standpoint. People appreciate it and are enjoying it. Even the public arts pieces that we’ve placed out there, made from old bicycles, people seem to really like those so that’s also a good thing.”
The first phase of the trail, which has been completed, is two miles long. It starts near the Henry County YMCA and goes in a northeasterly direction. The second phase will be 1.1 miles long. It’s still in the design phase. Before construction can begin, Ray and the others working with him need to raise additional funding. When complete, the second leg of the trail will go as far as an existing parking area along Ind. 103 near the Wilbur Wright Fish and Wildlife Area.
“Right now, we’re still short about $25,000,” Ray said. “That puts us really close to what we need. It’s a $375,000 project, but I think there’s public support for it and people are waiting for it to happen, so I think it won’t be much longer before people are able to utilize that.”
The majority of the funding to date has come in the form of grants including $150,000 from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Recreational Trails Program. Other donors include the Henry County Hospital Foundation, the Henry County Community Foundation, the Ball Brothers Foundation, REMC’s Operation RoundUp program, local Food & Beverage Tax dollars and others. Private donations have also helped, as have sponsorship opportunities along the trail for things like benches, signs and trees.
“Everything we get goes towards paying for the trails,” Ray said.
Eventually, the trail will run as far north as Losantville, where it will connect with the Cardinal Greenways.
“When we get to that point we can create a loop and people will be able to go to Richmond or Muncie on a greenway or a Rails to Trails route. I know there are a lot of people who want to see that happen. By the time that happens we’re looking at a roughly $5 million project,” Ray said. “It’s a big project and we’ll have to go back to using Transportation Alternatives funding, federal money, with a 20 percent local match. We don’t know where that’s coming from yet, but we’re trying to get phase two done first and we’ll worry about beyond that later.”
Ray said the trail provides a scenic way for people to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
“People stay younger longer when they move, and there’s all age groups out there using the trail from 3-year-olds just learning to ride their bikes up to 90-year-old people. We have people who are out there once, twice, sometimes even three times a day walking or riding and that means increased fitness, better health, weight loss. It’s also definitely helped the YMCA. People can go in there and work out and then finish their workout on the trail. We’ve seen that time and time again, and it’s not just people from New Castle utilizing the trail. People from all over Henry County and even surrounding counties use the trail and that’s just another amenity, another tool in the toolbox, people involved in economic development can use. They like to see that kind of stuff.”
Corey Murphy, president and CEO of the New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp., agreed with that assessment.
“There’s a connection between the walking trails and bike/pedestrian trails and attracting new residents and retaining current residents to the area. It’s really all about having a good place to live and being an attractive place for the people who are already here and new people giving us a look,” Murphy said.
Wilbur Wright Trail is paved and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The idea is to make it available to everyone, from all walks of life.
Wilbur Wright isn’t the only trail in Henry County, though. Wooly Bear Trail near Kennard is 1.2 miles long. It’s grass-covered and has seen some improvements this year including construction of a small parking area, a new picnic area, and a bench at about the quarter-mile mark. Ray said other improvements are also in the works either this summer or next.
The National Road Heritage Trail is also being developed along U.S. Hwy 40. A section of it near Raysville recently was upgraded to include a nutritional and fitness component for young children to encourage them to get more exercise and to educate them on various nutritional concepts.
“This is something that Head Start programs from throughout Henry County as well as Hancock and Rush counties are going to use. It’s about a quarter-mile long, so if you go out and do the whole trail and come back that’s about a half-mile, which is a pretty good distance for a 3 or 4-year-old to do. There’s also a couple of swings and we put in an area for hop-scotch near the parking area,” Ray said. As well, many of the trees along the trail have been identified, adding to its educational element.
There’s another section of the National Road Trail near Lewisville, where Ray said volunteers have been very helpful in providing maintenance and assorted improvements. When finished, this trail will span the entire state of Indiana and beyond.
In addition to walking trails, the city of New Castle has embraced bicycle trails throughout the community. Bike lanes have been painted along the sides of several city streets and bicycle-related emblems have been painted on many street surfaces to remind motorists they share the roads with people on bikes.
Public safety was a primary consideration when the bike lanes were established, according to one of the city council members who worked on the project.
“The goal of this work is to make things safer for everyone. The bicycle/pedestrian lanes along Bundy Avenue will make it so children going to and from school, or running with their teams, will have a designated place to walk or run, and because of the lines, drivers will be more aware of walkers, joggers and cyclists,” New Castle City Council member Rex Peckinpaugh stated in a letter to the editor published in The Courier-Times. “In other places where lanes have been painted it will create a safer environment for people to recreate or to simply get from place to place. The stripping added to Parkview Drive for center lines and turn areas should help traffic flow and increase safety in that area. I know it is tough for people to get used to new things but within a short time people will not even think of these lanes as anything more than boundaries to aid in traffic flow, and increase public safety.”