The Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands has kicked off the second phase of their partnership with Radius Indiana to enhance the capacities of communities along the soon to be constructed Monon South Trail (MST) to maximize the trail for economic and quality of life benefits. The MST is a 57-mile trail between Mitchell and Borden in south-central Indiana with construction spearheaded by Radius and largely funded through Indiana’s Next Level Trails program. Radius is an economic development partnership focusing on improving quality of life in the South-Central Indiana region.
The first phase of the project involved the creation of parks system master plans for several communities along the trail route. A master plan is a tool for communities to set goals and priorities for the development and maintenance of their parks system and opens the door to certain funding mechanisms. Participating communities included Orleans, Salem, New Pekin, and Borden with Mitchell writing their own master plan with advice from Eppley. Long distance trails not only serve as local recreation facilities, but they also draw visitors that need services such as lodging and food and are seeking entertainment and tourism related activities.
MST’s construction presents these communities with great opportunities to expand local recreation and maximize economic development opportunities. The planning process included robust public engagement with public meetings and surveys to ensure the voices of the community residents were heard and understood. Eppley assessed the state of the current parks systems then, working with parks leadership in each community, established long-term goals, made recommendations for improvements, and identified possible funding sources for these improvements.
The results highlighted several key areas for these communities to focus on, one of those being accessibility. Accessibility can be a challenge in park systems in smaller communities with limited budgets. Eppley’s research not only identified critical accessibility needs in community parks but confirmed the desire by residents to improve accessible facilities and add programming, leading to a robust set of recommendations for making parks and recreation offerings more accessible to all community members and visitors. An example of these recommendations is in New Pekin, where the nation’s oldest 4th of July celebration takes place. New Pekin is planning to replace the stage and seating pavilion where the festival is held and Eppley identified several important and legally mandated design features to be included including wheelchair accessible seating, a ramp to access the stage, accessible parking, and proper routes to the stage and seating areas, none of which exist in the current venue. Eppley also recommended to all communities several new program possibilities related to the trail including walking clubs for seniors and wheelchair users.
The next phase involves an economic projection study for communities along the route of the trail. Eppley will further engage important stakeholders to gather feedback about the trail’s potential to spur economic development, including tourism, new business opportunities, community events and festivals, and trail amenities that attract visitors and enhance quality of life for residents. The study will also examine existing trail-related economic impact studies and models used to measure and project economic development to create a picture of the long-term impact the MST could bring to the region.