[IndianaTrails] Breaking away down new trails

[Robert J. Matter]

http://southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060521/Opinion02/605210609/-1/OPINION/CAT=Opinion02

May 21. 2006 6:59AM

Breaking away down new trails

OUR OPINION

Communities need to make the most of their recreational assets. That's 
why we've long supported development of nature, hiking and bike trails. 
Not only do recreation trails provide the public with safe access to the 
great outdoors, but they encourage physical activity. Health and fitness 
data for Indiana indicate that physical activity is something Hoosiers 
could use more of.

So good for Gov. Mitch Daniels, who says that his statewide travels have 
shown him what seems to be a lack of vision in Indiana trail planning. 
The governor's office is just the place to draw together and coordinate 
a plan to link hiking and cycling trails all around the state.

We especially like the ideas expressed by Steve Slauson, deputy director 
of the St. Joseph County Park Department. Slauson, in a May 7 report in 
The Tribune by staff writer Martin DeAgostino, likened the trail 
potential in Indiana to the interstate highway system. Arterial routes 
would link cities, and smaller trails would connect with one another 
inside communities.

That's thinking big. And thinking right. Without the linkage, trails 
still are fun to follow. But they don't go anywhere. If the aim is to 
attract tourism and the economic development that it brings, which is 
what the governor seems to have in mind, then routes that appeal to 
serious bikers and hikers are important.

Slauson will be a good voice on behalf of this region when he attends a 
Department of Natural Resources trail summit on May 31. It is being 
convened at the behest of the governor. The aim is a statewide plan of 
action to address basic issues and be readied for public comment.

There are a lot of terrific trails throughout northern Indiana -- and 
many more in southwestern Michigan. (While we're thinking big, why not 
include Michigan?) Turning them into elements of a comprehensive plan 
will only make them better.

We're with Daniels on this one. We don't want Indiana to be a dead-end 
state, either.

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