CLAY COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — There have been discussions for several years now here in Clay County to add bike trails to some rural roads. Officials say that the top priority for them is safety for pedestrians and people using them to bike, walk, push strollers, and much more.
Clay County Commissioner Marty Heffner says that officials have been discussing possible locations for the trails since late 2018. He says the goal of the trail is to resolve connectivity issues.
“From parks, we have a park out on the west side of Brazil here, and then the high school is just down the road,” Heffner said. “There are lots of kids that walk that section of road and we need to get them off the edge of the road.”
The county received a grant under the Safe Streets For All Program through the federal government, which sets aside $5 billion over five years. Heffner says the commissioners aim to include the bike trails in the program.
“He’s contacted several farmers around the area to see if they might be interested in leasing the county a 20-30 foot strip around the outside of a field, to where we could put a trail there,” Heffner said. “If it’s close to a subdivision or a community, where it would get a lot of use, that’s what we want. We want it to be something the community is going to use.”
Heffner says the plan is still in the beginning stages, but the wheels are in motion.
“We’re in the process of getting that program put in place now, so that’s one of the big things that we’ve stressed,” Heffner said. “We want to include the trails, because we see that as a great safety issue in our community.”
Officials say their biggest goal is to get the first trail in place, so the community can see the potential impact of adding more in the future.
