Daniels: System of hiking trails is path to fitness

Governor unveils plan for statewide network to improve Indiana's physical, economic vigor

Will Higgins, Indianapolis Star, April 27 2006

Many of Indiana's 3,100 miles of hiking trails would be linked under a plan announced by Gov. Mitch Daniels on Wednesday.

Daniels said the plan, by encouraging exercise, would help lower the state's national obesity ranking, now ninth, and serve as an economic development tool by making the state's quality of life more attractive.

Such a vast trail system would let people cycle, run or walk statewide while rarely contending with cars.

"I noticed all around the state these beautiful trails, a fragment here, a fragment there," said Daniels. "I thought, 'If we could link these things up, we could begin to have quite a network.' "

Daniels declined to speculate on the plan's cost but said he expected federal and state dollars to be complemented by local money and private donations.

Currently, the trails exist mostly independently of each other. "Routes like the Monon Trail are great," said Richard Vonnegut, a longtime cycling advocate and president of the Indiana Trails Fund, "but they'd get more use, more practical use, if they were connected to more destinations or other routes."

Vonnegut is set to be among the roughly 300 trail advocates who will meet with Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials in Indianapolis on May 31 to come up with a blueprint for connecting the trails.

The DNR will hold public meetings this summer to discuss details and get public feedback. The goal is to have a plan in place by September. It may take a decade to implement.

Daniels' announcement thrilled the handful of trail advocates who gathered for the announcement at the Vandalia Trail in Plainfield.

"It's monumental, because for the first time you have a governor saying greenways are important," said Matt Klein, president of the Indianapolis-based Greenways Foundation.

Previously, trail development efforts were splintered. "We have a good start, but it's been fragmented," said Donald E. Sporleder, a South Bend architect who in 1990 helped develop the state's first pedestrian trail from a rail corridor.

Having a statewide master plan portends progress, said Vonnegut. "For us, it's like going from riding a horse to driving a Maserati," said Vonnegut.

As rising medical costs and obesity have become pressing national topics, fitness has become a popular focus of public policy.

At the February meeting of the National Governors Association (headed by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, known for having lost 100 pounds and becoming a marathoner), officials from around the country swapped ideas on how to help Americans become fit. One idea: American Samoa's new basketball league for people who weigh 300 pounds or more.

Daniels, who at 56 runs four miles a day and lifts weights, launched his "INShape" fitness initiative last year.

He signaled his commitment to a comprehensive trails plan in January by hiring Ray Irvin to head up the effort. Irvin had been the driving force behind Indianapolis' celebrated Monon Trail while a staffer with IndyParks.