There are perhaps three alternatives facing Madison County residents concerning the development of recreation and business along White River.
The first is based on the proposed Mounds Lake reservoir, a massive $440 million two-county effort that requires damming the river in Anderson and letting it back up into Delaware County. Although there is talk of scaling back the project, it has currently received a thumbs-down from Chesterfield, Daleville and Yorktown.
The plan is wide scale — supplying drinking water to Indianapolis residents while encouraging business development and recreation along the river. Many in the county are awaiting the next step to determine if it's economically feasible.
The second alternative comes in part due to opposition to the reservoir project. The Hoosier Environmental Council wants to connect Anderson to Muncie and nearby counties by building Mounds Greenway, a paved 17-mile path. Construction costs are estimated at $3 million to $8 million, depending on right-of-way purchases.
The walk-and-bike route would likely not develop businesses, other than bike or coffee shops, but it could address a huge health problem that affects all residents. It might have minimal impact on our gas consumption habits; should folks decide to bike instead of drive a car, there might be savings of at least $706,000 annually, the environmental council says.
In Madison County, 34 percent of our residents are obese; 28 percent are inactive and don't exercise.
Those figures may scare enough people to go out and immediately start paving a greenway. But it's best to take this proposal under advisement until communities start to latch onto the concept — and that goes beyond the concept of keeping healthy. The environmental council has presented a rather thorough proposal that needs further economic analysis. Communities need discussions on whether they are willing to participate in — or take the lead on — the project.
A greenway with easy access can become a transportation corridor linking East Central Indiana residents with Mounds State Park and the Anderson trail system, going all the way to Muncie, Marion and Richmond where users can connect with the popular Cardinal Greenways, which is touted at 62 miles as Indiana's longest span of recreational trails.
The third option often sounds like the easiest one: Do nothing. That should be unacceptable to recreation enthusiasts and families seeking ways to spend time together.
If the reservoir doesn't develop, local residents should consider the value of the greenway. Taking health issues into play, the greenway is better than doing nothing.