NORTH LIBERTY — A new walking bridge and trail built here is just one example of how this bedroom community 15 miles southwest of South Bend is reinventing itself.
The grant-funded bridge, which opened earlier this fall, spans Potato Creek to link a growing neighborhood with North Liberty Elementary School. It is part of a quarter-mile trail that gives youngsters a safe route to school.
Families in the Potato Creek Crossing subdivision, meanwhile, can take the path to walk and bike to the downtown area. Before, there wasn’t a safe way to do that because the road leading to the neighborhood doesn’t have a bike path.
Kim Murray, who moved into the subdivision with her family a decade ago, said the bridge has been a major improvement.
“It extends the ability to exercise and walk to town without going out on the highway. My husband uses it to walk the dog. And I use it when I want to go to Subway and the bakery,” she said, adding that she thinks the path will encourage more people to buy homes in the neighborhood.
Vicki Kitchen, North Liberty’s clerk-treasurer, said the town has planned trail projects that improve the quality of life here. It received another state grant, for example, to build a trail next year that will provide better access to the North Liberty Youth League baseball diamonds.
“We think trail systems are up-and-coming,” Kitchen said. “Since we are more of a bedroom community, to lure people to this town you need amenities and green living.”