LaPorte County parks board endorses trails master plan, will refer it to county for funding

A consultant presented a trails and bicycle-pedestrian master plan to the LaPorte County Parks and Recreation Board on Sept. 2, and the board voted to accept the plan and refer it to county officials for consideration and funding.

The board heard that the proposed network would connect roughly 20 to 30 public schools, nine local museums, 76 recreational facilities and 61 state-recognized conservation areas, improving east–west and north–south connectivity and focusing on safety and accessibility for people using mobility devices. The consultant emphasized focusing on achievable, phased projects rather than lofty goals that cannot be implemented.

“The consultant noted that eight bicyclists have lost their lives in crashes since 2008 in the county,” the consultant said during the presentation, urging safety improvements as a central priority. The presentation also described technical recommendations — paved shoulders, shared-use paths, advisory shoulders and targeted bike lanes — and discussed relative cost differences between shoulder treatments and off-street shared-use paths.

Public outreach included three public meetings and additional stakeholder engagement, which the consultant said informed the priority segments and design choices. The consultant also described constraints such as floodplain locations for some trail segments and the need to coordinate with state agencies for work near state routes.

Board members asked questions about phasing, maintenance and funding. The consultant outlined a range of possible funding sources — state and federal grants, metropolitan planning organizations, foundations and county allocations — and recommended pairing recommendations with likely funding streams to create implementable projects.

At the end of the presentation, the board moved to accept the master plan as part of parks planning so it can be taken to the county for inclusion in the county master plan and for funding consideration. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The board will present the plan to county staff and request funding opportunities and coordination.

The board did not set a construction schedule at the meeting; members discussed prioritizing short-term, low-cost segments for the first five years and phasing longer corridors into a 10-plus-year horizon.

The consultant who presented materials was introduced as being from Interra. The plan documents circulated at the meeting will be used as the basis for next steps with county planning and the highway department.