ANDERSON — Chesterfield is the first section of the proposed Mounds Greenway that organizers would like to get started on.
The presentation Tuesday started with a 10-minute video promoting the greenway and showing ways it could positively impact the community. Then the session was opened to public input.
The roughly 30 people in attendance were primarily Chesterfield residents. Tim Maloney, senior policy director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, presented people with five potential routes of how the greenway could look through Chesterfield.
The trails all use roads in some way or another, which would make obtaining the land easier — if greenway organizers are able to get the Chesterfield Town Council on board. Maloney encouraged residents in support of the greenway to talk to the town council members to sway them into support.
The proposed routes vary what parts of town they cover, but they each start at the existing trailhead at Walbridge Acres Park and end at the existing trailhead on the south side of town near Mounds State Park.
Three different plans for Anderson Road were depicted in graphics using combinations of walkways, bike paths, shared-use paths and buffer space between traffic and where the trail would be. Plans for Plum and Water streets were included as well.
One of the routes, which appears to be the longest, would go around much of the Timberline Valley RV Resort, 3230 E. 75N. Steve Foster, owner of the campground, said he would need to figure out logistics of privacy of his guests, but he is “100 percent in favor” of the greenway project as a whole.
“We’re not a proactive community in my eyes,” Foster said. “You’ve got to pull teeth to get things done.”
Many of the people who spoke during the two-hour listening session were in support of the greenway or at least liked the idea and were there to ask more questions.
The concerns that were brought up the most were safety on the greenway, the costs of the project and how the organizers will adjust if landowners are unwilling to have the trail on their property.
Some residents are concerned that crime will become a problem along the greenway. Other residents chimed in to say the culture and type of people the trail attracts will deter crime, especially since public eyes will be on the trail more than what exist along the White River now.
The cost of the trail segment through the Chesterfield area will vary greatly on where the trail actually ends up being laid and how much land acquisition will be involved. Most of the proposed trails would cost between $900,000 and more than $1.2 million.
The chart of cost estimates notes that the costs will vary depending on funding sources. Maloney said the team has made clear to the town council that the HEC and whatever Mounds Greenway group comes to fruition once the trail is implemented will help raise money and look for grants that could cover some of the costs.
The trail that is eventually created may be different from the proposed trails, Maloney said. The trail ultimately depends on cooperation from the town of Chesterfield and the landowners.
After being asked about how long the project in town could take, Maloney said he hopes the trail can be a reality in less than five years, perhaps even sooner with cooperation, and that the trail will be moved if owners don’t want it on their property.
He also reiterated again that the council has vowed to not use eminent domain to take the land from owners. Aside from all else, HEC wants the owners to enter conservation easements, even if the agreement dictates the owner will not allow a trail on the land.
“Our goal is to have that river corridor conserved and to keep it largely like it is now,” Maloney said. “It is fairly undeveloped along there.”