[IndianaTrails] Cardinal Greenway's seven-mile extension now open, links trail to Losantville

[Robert J. Matter]

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061214/NEWS01/612140330/1002

Cardinal Greenway's seven-mile extension now open, links trail to 
Losantville

By GAIL KOCH
gkoch at muncie.gannett.com


LOSANTVILLE -- After work began last winter on the newest section of the 
Cardinal Greenway, director Lenette Freeman heard the same question over 
and over again: "Is it open yet?"

Anxious trail users need not wait any longer, as greenway officials 
announced this week that the recent addition to the paved trail system 
is now ready for public use.

The new section adds another seven paved miles to the Cardinal Greenway; 
now 27 miles long, the greenway is the longest paved trail in Indiana. 
The new section picks up the existing trail at Delaware County Road 
534-E near Prairie Creek Reservoir and ends a few blocks past U.S. 36 in 
Losantville.

"We're glad that portion of the trail is finally ours, and we can allow 
greenway users to benefit from it," Freeman said. "Every day, we'd have 
five to 10 people call or stop by the (Wysor Street) Depot to ask when 
the new section would officially open."

Freeman recalls a greenway user who was so impatient to use the new 
portion of trail that he "blew out his bike tires as he traveled through 
hot asphalt right up to the paving machine," she said.

Greenway officials were not able to open the new section of trail until 
its contractor and the Indiana Department of Transportation determined 
work on the project was complete.

INDOT signed off on the project last week, Freeman said.
Horse riders to benefit

In addition to the seven miles of newly paved trail, horseback riders 
and hikers can now make use of an additional seven miles of new horse trail.

Before adding the new horse trail, the greenway had two miles of horse 
trail, beginning at the Medford Trailhead on Delaware County Road 500-S. 
Volunteers have worked on an additional two miles that will connect the 
existing horse trail to the new horse trail for a total of 11 miles of 
horse trail, Freeman said.

The greenway director said adding the seven miles of new horse trail was 
not originally planned for the extension. But because the bid on the 
project came in lower than the $1.4 million expected, greenway officials 
chose to add to the existing horse trail as well.

Shonda Kane, a volunteer who heads up the Greenway Giddy-Up, said the 
new 11-mile trail might now be the longest rail-trail for horses in the 
state.

"Getting any extra mileage for a horse trail in Indiana is greatly 
appreciated," added Cheryl Royer, a member of Indiana Trail Riders 
Association, a statewide group that supports trail riding and equine 
activities in Indiana and surrounding states.

Royer, Frankfort, edits the association's trail guide and said the added 
length to Cardinal Greenway's horse trail will greatly benefit horse 
enthusiasts who live in the northern half of the state.

"You have Brown County, but that's pretty far south for a lot of 
people," she said. "This is going to be nice because we've been really 
limited with extended trails up north."
Ribbon-cutting to come

Freeman said a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new section of the 
greenway will take place this spring in Losantville.

The extension already has received enthusiastic support from residents 
of Losantville. The town's fire department plans to host a 2007 dinner 
to raise funds that would help connect the greenway to Losantville's 
park, Freeman said.

With this stage of the greenway now complete, Freeman said the focus 
will now turn to extending the White River Greenway, which greenway 
officials hope to soon connect with the Cardinal Greenway.

For now, the greenway director says she will enjoy knowing that 
thousands of people who use the greenway can now extend their walks, 
jogs and bike rides a little farther into southern East Central Indiana.

When the weather gets warmer, one of those users will be bicycling 
enthusiast Layne Cameron, who describes the greenway as "awesome." 
Cameron said he recently pedaled to the "new" end of the greenway after 
work.

On the way back, "I had to ride home with my lights on." Now, he said, 
"I can't wait to ride the entire trail in the daytime!"

Contact news reporter Gail Koch at 213-5827.