Zionsville Pathways Committee urges short connector builds and safety trials, asks council to consider 2027 funding

Brad Gressel, a presenter for the Zionsville Pathways Committee, told the Town of Zionsville Town Council on June 15 that the advisory group recommends a set of short connector projects and safety trials to improve walking and biking access across town.

“We are an advisory committee that recommends pathway connections, improvements, and policies that benefit our town’s pathways network,” Gressel said, introducing the committee’s membership, which includes one town council member, Craig Melton, and two new members. He said the committee walked school-area corridors in February with consultant Health by Design and received a free audit from that firm.

The committee’s four prioritized recommendations are: add direct access points from Oak Street to the Big Four Rail Trail; complete a roughly 1,400-foot missing segment on Templin Road to improve east–west access between Willow Road and Michigan Road; construct a 300-foot connector on Audinger Drive near Royal Run to prevent trails from feeding directly into roadway traffic; and add about 650 feet of connection off Pleasant View Road to link Smith Meadows and Cedar Bend neighborhoods to an existing crosswalk near the elementary school. Gressel said these are relatively short runs that “we think [will have] pretty large impact.”

Gressel also described safety-focused recommendations from Health by Design. For the Mulberry Street–Ford Road roundabout the audit suggested short-term roadway alerts such as rumble strips and longer-term options including raised crosswalks or tabled crossings. The committee recommended exploring surface-mounted elements—concrete curb extensions and similar features—at three neighborhood entrances as lower-cost trials. Gressel said several HOAs, including Spring Knoll and Smith Meadows, have expressed interest in exploring such measures.

Councilors praised the presentation and discussed timing for budget requests. Councilor Melton said he plans to coordinate with DPW director Lance Lantz during the upcoming budget process to understand where these projects could fit in the 2027 budget. Gressel said he will circulate the full Health by Design report and the updated presentation to staff for council review.

Next steps: the Pathways Committee will provide the full Health by Design audit and the updated presentation to Amy Lacy (town staff). Councilors signaled interest in pursuing funding during the 2027 budget cycle; no formal council action was taken on the recommendations at the June 15 meeting.