Latest news with #NextLevelTrails
Chicago Tribune
10-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana Department of Transportation nixes idea of arboretum for road interchange in Porter
The idea of developing an arboretum in the green space around the Indiana 49 and U.S. 20 interchange was rejected by the Indiana Department of Transportation. Architecture students from Ball State University recently presented a study of the interchange during a Porter Plan Commission meeting. Jeremy Merrill, an assistant professor of landscape architecture, relayed by video feed the observations of his students. The town of Porter was looking for ideas to enhance the appearance of the intersection as an entrance into the community. Porter Town Councilman James Burge, I-2nd, arranged for the Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning to do the study, free of charge. The plan included an arboretum with winding trails, a mound, a playground and an amphitheater on the southeast side of the intersection, which would link up with the nearby Indiana Dunes Visitor Center off Indiana 49. Merrill even proposed having a pedestrian bridge over the entrance ramp. 'That plan was much more complex than what we might be able to have there,' said Cassy Bajek, an INDOT spokeswoman. The reason why INDOT had to say no was the safety concern for people in the area of the interchange. 'We don't want people to come in and out of the roadway,' Bajek said. Bajek said there are clear parameters of what the town can do with the intersection. The town would be permitted to do landscaping projects and welcome signs. Michael Barry, Porter's building commissioner and development director, said the town will look at landscaping options and artwork to spruce up the area. He said it was clear, though, that INDOT doesn't want people congregating within the intersection's green space. Barry said the town will talk with the Indiana Dunes National Park to coordinate with plans for the Visitor Center. The Ball State students did pitch other intriguing ideas outside of the Indiana 49 and U.S. 20 interchange that the town would consider, Barry said Barry said one proposal addressed the greater connectivity of trails within the Porter community. In recent weeks, Barry said he has been working with Parks Director Brian Bugajski and Rob Albrecht-Mallinger, a plan commission and Board of Zoning Appeals board member, on the trails issue. An obstacle is the recent Indiana state budget cut out money for the Next Level Trails program, which helps to fund the construction of trails, Barry said. The town wants to see its current trail that goes north on Waverly Road extended to Porter Beach. Barry said what the town can do downtown is widen the sidewalk on Lincoln Street to 8 feet so it can accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. That could help to connect the trail from Waverly Road and Lincoln Street to the Porter Brickyard Trail, which runs down Beam Street. The Porter Brickyard Trail has a bridge over U.S. 20 and runs through the Indiana Dunes National Park, linking with the Calumet Trail/Marquette Greenway at North Mineral Springs Road. Barry said the one thing he plans to do this year is install wayfinding signs for the Porter Brickyard Trail and other trails within the town to better inform bicyclists and pedestrians. There are practically no signs for the trails now.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Official concerned about loss of Indiana trails funding
In 2023, then-Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb dedicated $50 million in the state's budget to the Next Level Trails program. Since 2018, $180 million has gone into the initiative, and the state has partnered with local units of government and nonprofits to develop more than 217 miles of trail in 58 counties. Recently, Vigo County Commissioner Mike Morris, a longtime proponent of trails and running on them, said, 'I was advised that there was no Next Level Trails funding.' Last year, the program received $40 million. On Feb. 6, Morris testified before the Indiana State Legislature in support of reallocating about $30 million in Next Level Trails Grant funding. 'When I testified, I said that if the governor's directives are 10% reduction in all of your departments, why don't you cut $3 or $4 million but not defund it completely?' Morris said. 'The state told me the pressure on their budget has increased due to Medicaid,' Morris said. 'They've got to fund that, and if things have to give, I understand that. Medicaid has gone up more than anything else.' Next Level Trails grants have been instrumental in expanding and enhancing trails across Vigo County, including the Riley Spur Trail and other key projects that enhance outdoor activity, connectivity and quality of life for residents. Though the Riley Spur Trail will not be affected by the disappearance of Next Level Trail grants because the project has already been budgeted out, Morris laments any pause in creating and expanding trails. 'Acceptance for this trail building has been gaining momentum, and I don't want to see that stopped,' Morris said. 'I'd just hate to see that momentum put on hold.' A longtime runner Morris recalls when he embraced running wholeheartedly. 'I was 33 years old, and was in a department store buying pants with a bigger waistline,' he said. 'I was looking at the prices, and I took 'em and put 'em on the rack and walked out of the store and decided to start running again and lose weight. It was that simple.' Since then, Morris has competed in Canada twice for world duathlon (running and cycling) championships and flown to Switzerland for marathons, and has run throughout the country. First-place medals that he won recently in a multisport competition in Texas hang in his office. He recently competed in a 5K trail race in Plainfield. He first got involved in trail building when his friend, Pat Martin, was City Planner (which he was until 2016, when he became Bloomington's transportation planner). The federal government was funding public transportation — from highways to trails — and put the West Central Indiana Development Corporation (later, Thrive) in charge of planning and distributing that money. 'Pat came up with some good ideas — one was the National Road Heritage Trail through Terre Haute,' Morris said. 'There was a lot of public support for it. We just about had it done, and we had a mayoral election, and that changed some of the dynamics of building that. The state had allocated about $800,000 to build that trail. Changed mayors Judy Anderson, who was mayor from 2000-2003, was lukewarm about the trail until she realized how popular the idea was, Morris said, even driving a bulldozer across the trail during its construction. 'Everybody saw that it was a positive thing,' he said, and the Rails to Trails Conservancy, created in 1986, contributed to the momentum. 'Our local trail, the Riley Spur Trail, came together when the Surface Transportation Board sent letters to the commissioners about rail abandonment,' Morris said. 'I jumped in.' He began land banking those corridors because he didn't have to develop them immediately. When Rails to Trails began a program to build a trail from coast to coast, Holcomb was determined to be the first state to traverse the entire state for linkage, and to do so via Next Level Trails. From 'not here' to staunch support When Morris was championing the Riley Spur Trail as work began on the 7.9-mile asphalt trail, he encountered some not-in-my-backyard protests from neighbors, but that attitude has changed to, 'Oh, this is good for my backyard.' 'I had some people who were very wary of the Riley Spur Trail,' he said. 'One of the big fallacies was this was going to bring some kind of undesirables into their community. It doesn't, at all. 'Their neighborhood has improved and their property values have increased,' he added. 'They're talking to their neighbors now. Mom wants to get out with a friend and the baby stroller and walk a mile someplace talking. A safe environment to clear your mind.' Morris added that kids' minds are cleared when they get outdoors, away from their devices. 'That's what I can see on the Riley Spur Trail,' he said. 'I go there, and there's mom, dad and three kids, and the kids are going, 'Yeah!'' Fortunately, the Riley Spur Trail will need no additional money to continue construction. 'Our program is funded and we will complete it,' Morris said, adding that the next section will be completed later this year. 'It'll traverse Honey Creek and we have some bridge-building to do there.' He's more concerned about the bigger picture. 'I'm looking at this as more of a statewide program,' he said. 'We had a project from Rockville to the north end of the county — I have no way to complete that at this point. I don't have any funding to do anything.'
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First draft: Hoosiers react to 2025 budget proposal
Terry Spradlin, the executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, listens to a Ways and Means committee member on Feb. 6, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Nearly 100 Hoosiers trekked to the Indiana Statehouse Thursday, many seeking to convince lawmakers to restore funding lost under Gov. Mike Braun's budget proposal. With tight forecasted revenues, Braun opted to curtail agency expenses in favor of state tax relief. Testimony on Thursday responded to Braun's budget; House lawmakers will introduce their own version next week. Dozens pitched a bevy of programs slashed or eliminated by Braun, from dual-language classrooms and juvenile recidivism prevention to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and the direct flights program. Testimony lasted six hours before the House Ways and Means Committee. 'I knew … this was going to be a very challenging year for all of us,' summarized Denny Costerison, who spoke on behalf of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials. Costerison said he'd testified on the budget each year since 1981. He kept his comments brief, recognizing the few publicly available details on school funding, but promised lawmakers he'd continue advocating on behalf of Indiana's schools. Others said they were 'grateful' for their flat funding, like Emily Bryant with Feeding Indiana's Hungry, who said that food banks would continue to receive $2 million under the proposed budget. In the face of grim revenue projections, some pointed to untapped opportunities: such as increasing taxes on cigarettes and alcohol purchases to fund mental health shortfalls. Other topics included salaries for Indiana State Police officers, funding for the CHOICE Board and tourism dollars. Several groups made the case for increasing dollars dedicated to the Benjamin Harrison Conservation Trust Fund and trails. Environmentalists said trust funding of $10 million in the last budget cycle had been used in the past to leverage matching funds to further stretch dollars. Pushing that fund to $15 million — up from the $10 million in the budget proposal — could do even more, several said. 'Put their needs first': Braun calls for property tax, health care price cuts at State of the State 'When you invest public dollars in the Harrison trust of the Next Level Trails program, you're getting a good return on (your) investment,' said Tim Maloney on behalf of the Indiana Conservation Alliance. 'So when you think about what's the best way to spend state money — these programs have a track record.' Outdoor programming supporting trails and other amenities can spur economic development and encourage Hoosiers to exercise, improving quality of life, supporters said. Moderately wealthy Hoosiers pushed for the expansion of the state's voucher program for non-public schools. The program currently excludes only those earning more than roughly $220,000 — about three times the median Hoosier family income of $70,051. Families making more than $200,000 are the fastest-growing segment of voucher growth. Braun's budget would remove all income caps. Other families with disabled children praised the state's Education Savings Accounts, which fund education expenses for those families. Braun has been a vocal proponent of expanding school choice. Investing in the state's military bases[/subhed[ Several Hoosiers advocated for a new line item in the proposed budget: a military base infrastructure grant program. As outlined in an accompanying bill, which hasn't yet received a hearing, the annual, $25 million fund would be administered by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which houses the Indiana Defense Task Force. 'The aging infrastructure of our Indiana military bases threatens mission readiness and sustainability,' said Matt Craig, the director of Crane Community Support for Radius Indiana. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Martin County focuses on engineering and technical support, offering higher-than-average salaries for the area, continued Craig. Aside from the economic development boost, Craig warned that not investing in such facilities could put Indiana at risk of Base Realignment and Closure, a process where the Department of Defense may close select military installations. Nearly half a dozen other states had created such infrastructure funds, despite the fact that most such buildings are owned and operated by the federal government — a flag for committee Democrats. 'It seems to me, our first step has to be to ask our federal friends to do their jobs,' quipped Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat. Supporters from around the state pointed to these military bases as key community partners, despite struggles with utilities like water and electricity. Veterans advocate Lisa Wilken also flagged the movement of money from the Veterans Trust Fund, a savings account funded by private donations. Wilken said the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs had been permitted to take a combined $2.25 million in the last budget cycle for other programming — now up to $2.5 million in the budget proposal. She asked lawmakers to directly fund the agency, rather than allowing it to use funds from the trust, which she said had roughly $11 million left. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
