[IndianaTrails] 10 years of promoting fitness and conservation

Sun Jun 25 14:55:13 PDT 2006

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060625/COLUMNISTS10/606250354/-1/ZONES04

June 25, 2006

Russ Pulliam
10 years of promoting fitness and conservation

Now that it's officially 10 years old, the Monon Trail feels like an
elder statesman.

City and Greenways Foundation officials had a low-key celebration
Saturday at the Broad Ripple trailhead by the canal, giving out water
bottles and selling T-shirts. That fits the bike trail subculture well,
as most enthusiasts for these linear parks prefer exercise rather than
long speeches and elaborate celebrations.

Yet the Monon warrants celebration. It not only has given bikers,
hikers, runners and roller-bladers an accessible way to exercise from
146th Street in Carmel to 10th Street on the Near Northside. It also has
opened the door for bicycle commuting and now has state government
officials excited about a statewide trail system.

It is hard to remember the lowly status of biking trails a dozen years
ago. They weren't on the radar screen. City greenways administrator Ray
Irvin managed to get the Monon Trail built but faced serious obstacles
from a few property owners along the proposed route. He had ideas for a
city trail system and persuaded then-Mayor Steve Goldsmith to let him
work on the project, but without much city tax money.

Now the Monon has grown into a marketing tool, with homeowners and
businesses using it to promote their location.

Irvin was retained several years in his city job by the Democratic Mayor
Bart Peterson and recently was promoted to develop a statewide trail plan.

The Monon has spurred a small but significant bicycle-commuting trend.
Bike commuting may always be for the dedicated few -- it can be hard
work, with a lot of fulfillment and exercise -- but a majority likely
will never take the time or effort to do it. Perhaps bike commuters
ought to get a tax break. They don't pollute, and they reduce medical
costs with their physical fitness. Their reward may just come through
the free market if the price of gasoline keeps climbing.

One occasional commuter is Tom Sharp, commissioner of the state
Department of Transportation. It's not required for his job. He was
commuting weekly to Downtown from Carmel on the Monon with a friend even
before he joined state government. But his grasp of bike commuting will
play an influential part in plans to connect trails around Indiana.
Not all commuters use the Monon. But it's been the inspiration.

Bob Tavel usually commutes by bike from his Meridian-Kessler home to the
family business, the Uniform House, at 1927 N. Capitol Ave. He often
uses city streets, but the Monon is his preferred route in ice and snow.
He and his wife, Aviva, are trying to given their 9- and 6-year-old
children a sense of the possibilities of biking and public
transportation. They bike to the public library, for example, and try to
keep mileage on their one car to 5,000 a year.

So happy birthday to the 10-year-old Monon. The trail has provided a
burst of physical fitness for thousands of users, encouraged bike
commuting and promoted conservation of energy.

Pulliam is associate editor of The Star. Contact him at (317) 444-6001
or at russell.pulliam at indystar.com.