Paved stretch will make Pennsy Trail go the extra mile

By Shelley Swift | Daily R eporter sswift@greenfieldreporter.com

SUGAR CREEK TOWNSHIP — A new one-mile section of the Pennsy Trail is being paved this week and next, between county roads 300 West and 400 West in Greenfield.

A base coat was applied this week, but due to rain delays the finish coat is now scheduled to be applied late next week. The trail is not open to the public until the final coat is complete.

Once open, trail users can soon bike, walk, run or rollerblade a 12-mile stretch westward, all the way to Ritter Avenue in Irvington — where Smash’d Burger and a number of other restaurants are less than a half-mile from the Pennsy Trailhead.

The newest section of trail brings the goal of connecting the Greenfield and Cumberland sections of the Pennsy Trail one mile closer to reality.

Leading that effort is the nonprofit Pennsy Trails of Hancock County, which raised $70,000 over the past two years to pay for the gravel and pavement to complete the one-mile stretch.

Hancock County Highway Department is doing the paving work.

Mary Ann Wietbrock, president of Pennsy Trails of Hancock County, said volunteers have spent countless hours cutting back vegetation to prepare for paving.

“Two and a half years ago you couldn’t even walk through it. We tried, and it was so overgrown with honeysuckle,” she said, adding that volunteers worked tirelessly to clear a path for the new trail over the course of 18 months.

Much of the old gravel railbed remained throughout the stretch, leftover from when the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks were removed in the 1980s.

According to the Railsto- Trails Conservancy, a nationwide nonprofit, over 26,000 miles of former railroad track have been converted into public trails in the United States.

On the local level, Pennsy Trails of Hancock County has long worked to bridge the gap between the 5.5-mile long stretch of Pennsy Trail in Greenfield and the 6.7-mile-long section of Pennsy Trail that picks up on the west side of Greenfield, stretching far past Cumberland.

The nonprofit was able to successfully complete a one-mile stretch from county roads 400 West to 500 West in 2020.

In the summer of 2023 the group celebrated the completion of the next phase, from county roads 500 West to 600 West, along with dedicating the Eagle Station education center at the County Road 400 West trailhead.

Now the group is on the cusp of celebrating the opening of the newest stretch from County Road 300 West to 400 West.

“So it’s just one, two, three, boom! We have three miles down and a mile and a half to go,” Wietbrock said this week.

“We hope to have the (remaining gap) between (County Roads) 150 and 300 West completed and the Pennsy connected by 2030,” she said.

The avid trail advocate said the dream began about 15 years ago, when a group of community leaders gathered at Lincoln Square Pancake House in Greenfield to start discussing how to connect the two sections of Pennsy Trail.

“It just seemed like forever went by and nothing was happening, and all of a sudden we’ve got momentum and we’re actually making it happen. We feel like it’s going to be such a community asset,” Wietbrock said.

“We literally have people going to work on the trail, going to the grocery store on the trail, or using it as transport. It’s just a very vital part of our community,” she said.

Miriam Rolles, an avid trail user and president of Hancock County Park Board, said the newest section of Pennsy Trail currently under construction is by far one of the most scenic stretches of of the trail.

“It’s lined with trees (with a canopy of leaves overhead) and runs right next to Sugar Creek near 300 West. I have it as my screensaver on my phone, it’s that pretty,” she said.

As special projects and real estate coordinator for Hancock County, Rolles has gotten to see the new section in various phases of completion. She gives a lot of credit to Pennsy Trails of Hancock County volunteers, who painstakingly cleared the path for county workers to do the paving.

“As someone who likes to run and walk and bike, I think it’s going to be phenomenal,” she said.

If you build it…

Wietbrock has been thrilled to see a growing number of people use the trail as various sections have been added over the years.

“Now there’s people everywhere on the trail, and our numbers keep going up. So that’s exciting,” she said.

Connecting the Greenfield and Cumberland sections of the Pennsy Trail will open up a whole new host of possibilities for trail users, she said, who can bike to shops and restaurants in neighboring communities.

“People want to get on their bikes, and they want to ride to dinner. That’s what they do on the Monon,” Wietbrock said. “They want to ride their bikes and enjoy community. They want to ride to the Depot (Street Park summer concerts) for music,” she said.

By taking a series of connecting roads and trails, including the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, users can start out on the Pennsy and travel all the way to the Indianapolis Zoo in downtown Indianapolis.

Over the past decade, Pennsy Trails of Hancock County has conducted a biannual survey to track just how many people are using the local trail.

“We’re just finishing that up this week,” said Wietbrock. “If you’re on the trail in Hancock County you may be counted. We’re out there at all the trailheads counting walkers, riders, rollers and pets, and checking license plates.”

Trail users are drawn to the paved trail’s beauty and smooth riding surface, she said, as well as its amenities — like an elaborate learning station and portapot at the Eagle Station trailhead at County Road 400 West.

Pennsy Trails of Hancock County is now on a mission to raise $80,000 to replace the portapot with a vault toilet, an underground, waterless system designed to control odors and maintain sanitation.

To help raise funds, the nonprofit is hosting a 50/50 raffle at the New Pal Summer Fest, set for June 27-28 on the grounds outside New Palestine Main Street’s headquarters at 11 E. Main St. (U.S. 52).

The nonprofit plans another fundraiser from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at Wooden Bear Brewing Co. in Greenfield, where supporters are encouraged to wear their favorite “trail costume” while enjoying live music and a trivia contest.

Wietbrock said the public can also support the nonprofit by donating to a GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme. com/charity/ pennsy-trails-of-hancockcounty-inc, or registering their Kroger customer loyalty card to have charitable funds directed to Pennsy Trails of Hancock County.

To donate, volunteer or learn more about the Pennsy Trail, including where it connects to other trails leading to Indianapolis, visit PennsyTrails. org.