Fall Pathfinders Newsletter Published Our most recent newsletter has been published. Click below to download a PDF version of the document to read and/or print. Enjoy! www.indianatrails.com/_files/ugd/a...

How much are you paying to drive, and how much could you save if you had transportation options available to you every day?

Trail Tuesday’s trail is the Pufferbelly Trail in Fort Wayne and Allen County. This trail follows old railroad tracks through suburban locations, almost from the county line to near downtown. This will be part of the 80-mile Pokabache Trail, which connects Pokagon State Park to Ouabache State Park.

A cyclist blows a stop sign, bad for the cyclist. A motorist blows a stop sign, bad for everyone else. Stop blaming e-bikes. Advocate for safe spaces for bicycles, including protected lanes, separated lanes, bollards, trails, and more. Cars are the problem; e-bikes are part of the solution.

Our Trail Tuesday trail is the Cardinal connecting Richmond to Marion via Muncie - this picture is where the trail crosses the White River. The Outdoor Indiana Summer 2025 issue has an article about Angie Pool, the CEO of Cardinal Greenways. The story is on pages 12 and 13.

Riding 224 miles in 2 days, adventure cyclist Dan Moroney rode from the Walter Payton statue in Chicago to the Peyton Manning statue in Indianapolis. His trip followed many trails and backcountry roads; he gave high praise for the trails here in Indiana. Enjoy his adventure!

Last week, we talked about how we attended the release party for the Evansville Region Trails Master Plan. You can now read that plan online via the attached link.

Safe Routes to School encourages kids to walk or ride bikes to school. Indiana Trails encourages communities to develop pathways to allow children to walk or bike to school. We call on INDOT to conduct a survey of all schools in Indiana to ascertain whether they are safely accessible for children.

When attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Salem last Friday, we were handed a brochure from Emerald Trail Bikes, located at 400 S. High Street in Salem, which plans to rent manual and electric bikes. Trails bring investment. Best of luck, Emerald Trail Bikes!

Welcome to Osgood Trails, this Trail Tuesday! Osgood (pop. 1,587) in Ripley County recognizes that exercise and green spaces are important. On this trail, we can see a Storywalk® - a deconstructed book where young readers must walk from panel to panel to read and complete the story.

Welcome to Trail Tuesday! Today’s trail is the Industrial Heritage Trail in Kokomo. It connects to the Nickel Plate Trail on the north side of Kokomo, and runs north/south through downtown Kokomo through Lincoln Road. The residents of Kokomo are lucky to have this fabulous trail at their disposal!

Welcome to Multimodal Monday! Gondolas are an unusual public transportation option. Perhaps an unusual option is needed to help pedestrians and cyclists across the Ohio River in the Evansville and Henderson area. Would you take a gondola from one downtown area to the other, over the Ohio River?

Read our most recent Substack about our participation in the League of American Bicyclists Summit '25 open.substack.com/pub/indianat...

Trails bring economic development! Bang that drum, over and over! This quote is from Kelli Lawrence, the CEO of Ony+East, a developer who has worked on building housing developments near trails. She understands what people want and are willing to pay for - the lifestyle amenity of trails!

Trail Tuesday! Today’s trail is the Monon. This trail started our organization and showed how trails can improve the community. Monon connects Marion and Hamiton Counties. Monon is the backbone of a trail network in Central Indiana. Modern trail movement in Indiana owes its existence to this trail.

Staff members of Indiana Trails went to the construction area for the B&O Trail connecting Brownsburg and Speedway. We saw the progress made, the railroad artifacts along the trail, and what areas were further along than others. We look forward to this trail opening later this year!

Noblesville is redesigning its downtown county seat square and nearby streets to make the area more pedestrian—and bicycle-friendly. The White River Trail, the Midland Trace, and the Nickel Plate Trail are all nearby, creating an extremely friendly area for those who have chosen not to drive a car.

Welcome to Trail Tuesday! Today’s trail is the Feeder Dam Trail portion of the Whitewater Canal Trail. This scenic trail through beautiful Franklin County is recommended for those who love to walk and ride on trails.

Welcome to Multimodal Monday! Car-free in the US? Culdesac developers in Tempe say yes! Renters use Waymo, electric cars, e-bikes, scooters, or the city's mass transit. People know their neighbors and lose weight by walking or biking. Culdesac is successful and a model for the country.

Indiana Trails supports trail development. We work with elected leaders to convey the positive impacts of trails and the benefits to nearby landowners. This takes time, expertise, and money. You can help by donating $25 for 2025 to support our cause - www.indianatrails.com/donate Thank you!

We are sad to inform you that Indiana Trails Community decided to cancel the Safe Bridges for All Conference. While we know that the conversation we had slated is essential for our communities - We now understand that there is more work to be done prior to having these conversations.

Bikes and e-bikes are gaining popularity. We see it in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Lafayette, Bloomington, South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, Lake County, and more. Bicycles, walking, and public transportation are the solution when cars are the problem.

Our most recent Substack article is about bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure (trail) funding at the federal level and the risk of grants and funding. Please sign the petitions at the bottom of the article, and make your voice known to your Representative and Senators. Thank you!

Welcome to Trail Tuesday! Today's trail is the Beaver Trail in Morocco. It is one of the few grass-covered trails in Indiana. This trail follows a former railroad right-of-way and is a great benefit for the people living in Morocco!

Bridge Wednesday! Trail volunteers and managers, your trail will encounter a physical barrier: stream, river, busy road, etc. This conference provides solutions to overcome barriers, including planning, design, financing, implementation, and maintenance. Come learn and network. www.indianatrails.com

Hello! Trail Tuesday features the Angola Greenway, connecting Pokagon State Park to nearby Angola. Campers at Pokagon can ride their bikes into town for lunch or dinner. There are many great restaurants near Trine University. Come to Steuben County for a fantastic ride!

Contact Calleigh Smith at [email protected]

For Bridge Wednesday, we have a video showing how difficult it can be to replace a 100-year-old bridge. To serve the joined communities, changes are needed: public transit, bike and hike accommodations, and an exit/entrance lane. Can all parties be satisfied?

Safe Bridges For All Conference is held near the Big 4 Bridge. We have 3 sessions related to this Bridge: 1) Converting the abandoned railroad bridge into a walking bridge 2) The financial impact of this renovation 3) Walking tour of the bridge Be sure to bring your walking shoes!

Trams for Multimodal Monday! Indiana banned Indianapolis from building a tram network, so the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system was built. The video shows that trams invite investment through their permanence. Practical trams are part of a mature multimodal system of transportation.

Welcome to Trail Tuesday! Today's trail is the Pennsy Trail in Greenfield. This picture was taken just west of the downtown depot park. The side of this Pacific Fruit Express refrigerator car has a mural highlighting the Greenfield Line, an interurban that served communities east of Indianapolis.

Last chance to register at a reduced rate! The conference spotlights safety, equity, and accessibility through an engaging mix of historical insights, present-day innovations, and forward-looking strategies. The agenda and registration are on our web page - www.indianatrails.com

Very welcome news! Crossing 86th Street on the Monon Trail is a dangerous intersection that has hurt cyclists for far too many years. Glad the city is proactive about the 82nd Street crossing of the Nickel Plate Trail.

Reminder: Register for our Safe Bridges for All Conference at the Louisville Waterfront Botanical Gardens, with activities in Clarksville and Jeffersonville. $100 reduced Early Bird rate through February 21st. We hope to see you on May 13-15!

Trail Tuesday! We went to the Honey Creek Trail in Henry County about a year ago. A mild day and cabin fever drove us out of the office. We went to Middletown and followed this rail trail toward New Castle for a while, then got back around midday. Stopped at a local pizzeria for a yummy reward.

The retired couple Adventures on ebikes rode on the Monon Trail starting in Sheridan. It was an especially hot day, so they turned around near Central Park, but the sights seen along this wonderful trail are amazing! We hope to showcase some of the other trails they visited in Indiana soon!

Traffic and construction, dulls driving. Sealed and computerized engine compartments has stopped tinkering under the hood. Automobiles are not attractive to the younger generation. They see the downside of driving and are considering alternatives. Infrastructure and civic services must adapt.

Supporting transportation choices is more than just painting a line on a road and calling it a bike lane. It means protecting cyclists when the roads are slick, disposing of snow in places other than where pedestrians walk, and frequent bus service so that people are not waiting long in the cold.

Noblesville unveiled pictures along the Midland Trace. These signs talk about Plum Prairie's role in Noblesville and former slave Reverend Barny Stone's impact. Place building helps connect residents and trail users to a shared communal history, explaining why things are the way they are.

Ride Along Adventures has a video about their experience on the Monon Trail and the Cardinal Greenway. We agree, Indiana is beautiful. Our trails are a wonderful reason we can see so much of her natural beauty. Please watch their 35-minute video showcasing two of our award-winning trails.

Trails aren't just for walking and bicycling. Trails are a great way for Santa to get around! All of us at Indiana Trails wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Welcome to Multimodal Monday! This presentation shows how to bring passenger rail to Indiana. It shows possible commuter, in-state, and multi-state projects. Hoosiers want transportation choices, including trails, bicycle paths, public transportation, intercity rail, and automobiles.

When people are forced to choose between safe housing and transportation to work, society has a problem. We advocate for transportation choices, not anti-car, but working to lower the cost of transportation, and equitable transportation. Cars are expensive to own. Not everyone wants to own a car.

We have seen a recent rise in the number of bridges that cater to pedestrians and cyclists. Whether this is repurposing defunct bridges, adding a pathway to an existing bridge, or building a new specific purpose bridge. Indiana Trails supports bridges that cater to ALL of us, not just drivers.

Pictured below is the Whitewater Canal Trail near Metamora. Thank you for your support! indianatrails.com/donate

One dead cyclist is too many. For survivors, recovery is long and difficult. These are our relatives, our neighbors, and our fellow Hoosiers - dying and seriously injured. Can we ease off the gas pedal, look around more, be more observant, put away the distractions, and drive?

Welcome to Multimodal Monday! Fort Wayne put on a master class in multimodal design by analyzing who lives in the Packard area, what businesses serve them, and how walkability and mobility solutions best serve them. This plan showcases a neighborhood rich in history and prepares it for the future.

Technology will help keep the streets safer, but this isn’t a solution that will solve all of our problems. We need a paradigm shift where drivers understand that the road isn’t exclusively for cars, and they must share the space with other road users.

Bridge Wednesday! Indy's planned new HENRY STREET BRIDGE will have something for everybody with its design elements, striking look, and westward extension of the CULTURAL TRAIL. This bridge will connect many of the iconic Indianapolis destinations and link trails for a walkable and bikeable city!

Multimodal Monday! Politicians design transit systems for commuters back and forth to work. In cities with robust transit systems, people can visit parks, museums, ballparks, theatres, and more without a car. Lindsay Welbers' book is for transit to trails in Chicago.