LAWRENCE, Indiana — In Lawrence, work is underway to finish a new trail extension to connect neighborhoods and the city.
Paving has started on the trail along Lee Road from 59th Street to 63rd Street and then over to Winona Drive.
The city says the project will improve the connection between Fort Harrison State Park, Lee Road Park, Forest Glen Elementary, Ivy Tech and local businesses around Fort Ben.
The extension is just over a mile long and was made possible by several grants.
This new trail will connect to the existing Fall Creek Greenway, which runs over 14 miles from downtown Indianapolis to Fort Harrison State Park.
Here's why this is such a big deal for Lawrence: Last fall, we talked with the head of a group called Indy's Urban Wilderness, who told us Lawrence needs to be more walkable.
"There are 50,000 homes, and this area has an average walkability score of 13, and to put that in context, we're talking about zero to 100," Dr. Franklin Roesner said. "So we don't have walkability, we don't have access to other neighborhoods, to commercial centers, to places of work."
In May, 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.
We've covered the push to bring more trails and accessibility to Lawrence over the past year. You can see our other stories on this topic here