News & Information

Posted on Thu, May. 13, 2004
52 miles of Aboite trails proposed
County task force also to study collapsed Maumee path

By Dan Stockman and Benjamin Lanka - The Journal Gazette

Getting people out of their cars and onto recreational trails was the topic of discussion both for Allen County officials and a group of residents in Aboite Township on Wednesday. About 150 people filled the Summit Middle School cafeteria to hear Aboite New Trails' proposal for a network of 52 miles of trails across the suburban township, including plans for construction on one leg to begin June 1. Allen County commissioners, meanwhile, formed a four-member task force to find a solution to fixing a portion of the Rivergreenway trail in hopes of having it open by this fall.


Aboite New Trails President Lynn Reecer said the group formed in 2002 after Indian Trails Park and the YMCA opened and residents realized the only way to get to them was by car. There wasn't even a sidewalk connecting to the school two doors down. As the township's population explodes with young families with children, residents found it more important to find alternatives to the heavy traffic already clogging the area's roads. "People's initial thought is (trails) are just sidewalks for kids to ride bikes on, but they're so much more than that," Reecer said. Trails not only allow people to walk or ride for short trips instead of using their cars, she said, but also are a huge part of the quality of life in an area, bringing both green space and recreational opportunities to residents' doors.

About June 1, Reecer said, construction is expected to start on a leg of trail at Coventry and West Hamilton roads. The trail was already planned for in front of Coventry Elementary and the under construction Woodside Middle School, but Wednesday developer Oakmont Development said it would build a trail north to connect the schools to Ridgecrest Road. When Allen County officials construct a leg heading west to a group of subdivisions along Coventry Road, it will create a loop. Allen County Highway Director Mike Fitch, who is also a Aboite New Trails board member, said construction on the county's leg could start this summer if the money to pay for it can be found.

Aboite New Trails has raised $10,000 of the $39,000 it needs to construct the leg around the schools. In the meantime, Fitch, county Commissioner Ed Rousseau, county Surveyor Al Frisinger and legislative liaison Sandra Flum will form the county task force working to fix the part of the Rivergreenway between Pemberton Drive and North River Road along the Maumee River. The section was closed last year after floods washed out part of the trail and a 6-year-old boy fell where the path collapsed. The county has offered to pay $62,500 to settle the case. In April, the commissioners opened the path from Pemberton Drive to Coliseum Boulevard. It will remain closed just before the crevice. Rousseau said it could cost up to $1 million to repair the path. "We're not going to make a temporary fix," he said. "The Rivergreenway is a popular recreational asset in this community."

Rousseau said the path failed because the way it was engineered has the river crashing hard against the path's base. Erosion ate away at the underlying surface, causing the path to collapse. "It's like taking a fire hose and pointing it right on the bank," he said. Rousseau said the task force was created now because the county finally has all the facts in place to begin looking for solutions.

Frisinger said the county is in promising discussions with Lakeside Golf Course to create a way to get equipment to the deteriorated section of the path. Rousseau said this presents some problems. "Taking equipment across tears up the course," he said. "We don't want to ruin the golf course and put them out of business." The task force will determine a way to fix the problem without damaging the course. Rousseau said he hopes to open the path by this fall, but government regulations could postpone it until next spring. The first meeting of the task force has not been scheduled, but Rousseau said it should meet weekly.

In Aboite Township, the crowd heard from Ray Irvin, the administrator of the Indy Parks Greenway in Indianapolis, which has 65 miles of trails, 60 miles of loops through parks, and 125 miles of bike routes. Irvin said many of the trails are used as corridors for infrastructure such as sewers, water lines and fiber optic lines, which helps pay for the trails and combines efforts. He said a study has shown the trail raises property values about $15,000 for homes near it. "The greenways have become the place to live," Irvin said. "Living near the trail has become really an important thing in our community."