LAWRENCE, Indiana — Northeast Marion County residents say they’re hopeful a state grant will allow for a critical extension of the Fall Creek Greenway.
“In the neighborhood surrounding just this (proposed) segment of the Fall Creek Greenway, there are 50,000 homes, and this area has an average walkability score of 13 (out of 100),” said Dr. Franklin Roesner, president of Indy’s Urban Wilderness. “So we don't have walkability. We don't have access to other neighborhoods, to commercial centers, to places of work.”
Indy’s Urban Wilderness is a group of trail advocates working with the City of Lawrence to extend the trail system from Lee Road at 63rd Street to the Upper Loop Trail at Geist Crossing. They applied for a state Next Level Trails grant to fund the estimated $6 million project.
Roesner, a doctor, said trails like this are needed not just for connectivity but for health reasons, too.
“Central Indiana has an epidemic of issues that can be lifestyle-impacted, like obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes,” Roesner said. “If you build it, they will come. You can improve people's physical activity by providing those opportunities.”
The greenway is currently about 18 miles long. It goes from downtown Indianapolis to Fort Harrison State Park. Earlier this month, Indianapolis city officials cut the ribbon on another segment of the Fall Creek Greenway. By 2025, the greenway is expected to connect Hoosiers to other trails, making a 42-mile multi-trail loop across three counties. The goal is to eventually connect all the way up to Fishers.
Roesner said they expect to hear in December whether they’ve been awarded the grant for the most recently-proposed extension.