Southern Indiana Trails

Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel announced a major accomplishment to finish the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage Industrial Corridor by December 2011. Nearly $2 million in Federal Surface Transportation Program(STP) funds will be utilized to finish Phases 3 & 4. This will connect the Riverfront and Middle Levee Corridors and create 6.75 miles of continuous Greenway. Additional STP funds will be utilized to design the Greenway Passage eastward to connect with Glenwood Middle School, Hi Rail and up along Garvin Street and Stringtown Road to connect back with the Heidelbach Canoe Launch for a complete loop of 14 miles. Preliminary engineering will also design the trail out to the Angel Mounds State Historic Site; design a pedestrian bridge over the Lloyd Expressway near Vann Avenue, and design other pedestrian and bicycle routes Click on thes links for the Press Releas e and the Maps showing the new plans.

By Susan Orr NEWBURGH — When Jim Seibert feels like taking a walk or a bicycle ride, the opportunity to do so is right at his doorstep. Seibert lives on French Island Trail, and the newest section of Newburgh's Rivertown Trail passes within a few feet of his front door. Several times a week Seibert uses the trail, and he's in good company when he does. "It is just packed with people every day — and it's not just Newburgh people," Seibert said. Local residents and elected officials gathered Saturday to dedicate Phase Two of the Rivertown Trail. The 1.65-mile walking and cycling path extends from the Old Lock and Dam Park to the new lock and dam east of town. This portion of the trail is an extension of the original part of the trail, a 1-mile stretch which runs from the Old Lock and Dam Park west to the intersection of Indiana 662 and Yorkshire Road. The new stretch is an asphalt trail that varies from 6 to 10 feet wide, with benches and trash cans at periodic inte...

By Frank Boyett Henderson County's first stand-alone bicycle path is ready for rolling -- and boosters are hoping it becomes the initial spoke in a big wheel. The path, which was paved Friday, starts at the cul de sac at the end of Barret Boulevard, goes behind the Wal-Mart and Lowes stores, and then follows the drainage all the way to Kimsey Lane. It's a nice way for bicyclists to avoid heavy traffic on the U.S. 60-U.S. 41 cloverleaf, as well provides an easy walk for Redbanks and Redbanks Towers residents to get to Hoffman Plaza shopping center. But "it is not for motorized vehicles," stressed County Engineer Bill Hubiak. "What we have right now is three-quarters of a mile of the first 10-foot-wide section of the bike path. I hope it's utilized. People have already been biking on it before it was blacktopped." The idea of local bicycle paths has been percolating for 35 years. The widening of south Green Street provided a bicycle lane earlier this year,...