Latest news with #SaveBriarEastWoods
Chicago Tribune
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Hammond Governors Parkway project passes environmental review
Despite some residents' concerns, the city of Hammond's Governors Parkway project has received approval under the National Environmental Policy Act. 'The rigorous environmental review process is complete,' Mayor Tom McDermott said in a Friday news release. 'We have mitigated for all environmental aspects of the project including tree replacement, wetland mitigation, identification and protection of endangered species, among others. I'm happy to finally move forward with improving safety (responses) for our residents and solving the decades old problem of stopped trains in Hessville.' NEPA established a national policy for the environment and provided for the establishment of the Council on Environmental Quality, according to the act's website. The act requires federal agencies to assess environmental effects of proposed major federal actions before making decisions. Governors Parkway is a multimillion-dollar project that's an overpass linking 173rd Street and 169th Street between Parrish and Grand avenues. The project first had its public hearing two years ago, according to the city's news release. Hammond was the subject of a 2023 ProPublica article that found children would climb over or under stopped trains to get to school. According to Post-Tribune archives, McDermott said in May 2023 that Governors Parkway 'solves about 80% of the problem.' The overpass is about a mile away from where pedestrians were regularly crossing trains. In May 2023, McDermott was looking into the possibility of building an additional pedestrian bridge, which some residents said would cost more than $7 million. Governors Parkway was awarded more than $7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration through the Railroad Crossing Elimination grant program. In 2018, the project received $5.45 million from Indiana's Local Trax Program, providing state matching funds for rail crossing safety improvements. Terry Steagall, a member of opposition group Save Briar East Woods, reached out to the Indiana Department of Transportation with concerns about the project. Members of the Save Briar East Woods group are against the Governors Parkway project because it would go through the forest. Briar East Woods is a 4,000-year-old forest in Hammond's Hessville neighborhood and one of the last surviving remnants of the High Tolleston Dunes, according to Just Transition Indiana's website. Residents have argued the forest is a resource for all Northwest Indiana community members, and the city will struggle environmentally without it. Advocates also feel the city hasn't been transparent with residents about the project. On March 13, the city announced it would install a boundary fence around Briar East Woods, a city-owned, 18-acre parcel, according to Hammond's website. The fence was complete by March 18. 'The city needs to begin preparations for the Governors Parkway project. By fencing this area off, we are making sure that the trespassing, illegal motorized vehicle use, illegal drug and alcohol use, and illegal dumping that has been occurring in this area is minimized,' McDermott said in a March announcement. Lyndsay Quist, commissioner for the Indiana Department of Transportation, said in a message to Steagall that 'many alternatives were considered,' but Governors Parkway was determined to be the best option by the city of Hammond and INDOT. Steagall provided the Post-Tribune with Quist's May 1 message. 'Regarding environmental impacts, INDOT works hard to minimize environmental impacts from its projects and often provides mitigation when impacts are unavoidable,' Quist said. 'In this case, exhaustive studies of the soil were performed, and an in-depth analysis was conducted to determine if the wetlands are being affected. Trees are being removed as part of this project, but to mitigate those removals, more than $200,000 worth of trees are being added in other areas of the city.' McDermott had previously told the Post-Tribune that the city will replant two trees for each that is torn down in Briar East Woods. Residents have expressed concerns for that strategy because new trees won't help flooding concerns, as they aren't as large as Briar East Woods' oak trees and won't be in the same location. Quist told Steagall in her message that the project's environmental document was recently approved and is expected to be released in a few weeks. 'While we respect your concerns about the environmental impact of this project, as stated above, much has been done to mitigate those impacts while the public has had many chances to further influence the impacts from this project,' the message said. 'In addition, once constructed, this project will have a positive impact on the community and keep everyone safe.' The Governors Parkway project is expected to start construction in summer 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027, according to Hammond's news release.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Planet Palooza in Gary Blends Culture, Nature, and Environmental Justice
On the sandy shores of the Indiana National Dunes, a dozen environmental organizations gathered on Saturday to celebrate — and protect — their planet. Kimmie Gordon, founder of Brown Faces Green Spaces, an environmental equity organization, said the event started six years ago with just a few vendors and attendees. Today, Planet Palooza, as it is called, draws over 80 participants and a dozen vendors, helping to build community, raise awareness, and bring more diversity into Northwest Indiana's environmental space. Gordon said this year's theme, 'Boots on the Ground,' symbolized the need for persistent action in environmental conservation despite the federal dissolution of related issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, rollbacks of environmental justice protections, layoffs of national park staff, and funding challenges caused by federal cuts, prompting a call for continued support. Gary's industrial legacy in steel production and air pollution has driven local environmental activism and conservation efforts for years, with ongoing pollutant projects in the region underlining the need for more protection of its wetlands, parks, and natural resources. As Indiana experiences rollbacks in environmental justice protections, Black cities like Gary, one of the most air-polluted cities in the country and overburdened with hazardous waste and pollutants, are particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects. But miles down the road from the steel and smoke of Gary Works, on the sunny shores of Indiana Dunes National Park, environmental events like Planet Palooza bring awareness and calls to action for more protections in Steel City. 'The boots on the ground theme is inspired by the reclamation of diversity in the environmental space,' Gordon said. 'There's no way in the world that DEI cannot exist, because it's all around us. And you can see that here,' she said, pointing to the diversity of attendees, many of whom were Black, white, or Latino. 'That's what I wanted to show, is that you can't take it away, so don't even imagine it. DEI: Don't Even Imagine — a world without it.' She said it feels good to host the event in Gary on the shores of the Indiana National Dunes, one of the gems of Northwest Indiana's environmental offerings, and Lake Michigan to see how the community comes together for a common cause. This year's vendors and tables included Save Briar East Woods from Hammond; Just Transition Northwest Indiana, based in East Chicago; and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, alongside Northern Lake County Environmental Partnership, The Field Museum in Chicago, and Save the Dunes. East Chicago native Devon Norfleet, 23, said he attended Saturday's event out of his 'genuine love' for nature and participated in the morning's beach shore cleanup. After the group picked up about 10 pounds of trash, he said the need for more events like Planet Palooza was more apparent than ever. 'I've been to a few events here and there, but they're not as widespread as they probably should be, especially considering the pollution in our specific area,' he said, adding that operators such as East Chicago's BP oil refinery spurred his conservation efforts. 'It definitely needs to be a bigger program. But I am glad that we are having this.' Standing at a table filled of fox, coyote, and otter fur, Kip Walton, the outreach program coordinator at the Indiana Dunes National Park, said that he attended Planet Palooza as a vendor as well to help bring awareness to the richness of diversity of the region's local and national parks. After 33 years in the National Park Service, Walton, who grew up playing in the outdoors, said it's critical for people to remember to 'enjoy the diversity' of nature and their communities. 'I think that's really, really important for people to understand, especially nowadays, when they're starting to try to get rid of DEI and environmental justice. I think it's time for us to get together in outdoor spaces like this and just enjoy each other and enjoy the outdoors.' Looking out over the sun-glossed lake, dancing to the background of classic cookout tunes, Gordon said she is uncertain of what lies ahead. Federal funding for environmental projects and sustainability, already limited, continues to be slashed, she said, and the impacts of rolling back environmental protections that plague her hometown are daunting. Still, she said she is determined to stay present, mobilize her community, and forge on for a cleaner future. 'I think now more than ever in 2025, it's important that the community comes together, along with the organizations, on one accord and continues to mobilize, just as we have been doing in the past,' she said. 'Because these issues don't go away. They may no longer be acknowledged at the federal level for right now, but they will never go away. DEI will never go away. Environmental justice and environmental racism will never go away. And so that's why we're here, continuing to continue.' The post Planet Palooza in Gary Blends Culture, Nature, and Environmental Justice appeared first on Capital B Gary.
