COLUMN: Trailing or Leading: Next trail follows the money

Imagine standing in front of state legislators from other states and they are in awe of what Indiana is doing. Lawmakers from across the country, including Alaska, are trying to learn how to be as good as Indiana.

High school basketball? Maybe. But in this case, they were asking about bicycle trails.

How did Indiana move from being a state that had a few trails to a state that has a lot of trails? It came from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, and it came from you.

First, you get significant credit because you had the idea of a pathway that let pedestrians and cyclists get safely from one end of town to McCormick's Creek State Park. At the same time, communities across Indiana were dreaming of trails that would help their communities.

It takes more than good dreams for communities to turn fantastic plans into actual trails. It takes money. And Governor Holcomb found money (from the Indiana Toll Road, not taxpayers) to create the Next Level Trails program.

Communities were encouraged to apply. To make their applications more successful the trails should connect communities or connect to a popular amenity, like a state park. The application also required at least a 20 percent match from the community itself.

When Next Level Trails was announced, Governor Holcomb dedicated $90 million over three years to the projects. Communities around the state, including Owen County, applied.

In May 2019, nearly $25 million in Next Level Trail grant money was awarded to 17 communities. Not us.

We applied for the next round. In March 2021, nearly $30 million was awarded to 18 projects. Not us.

We applied again. For the third round of grants, money from the American Recovery Act was added to make a larger pool of funds. The new grants were announced in April 2022. This time we were successful!

The MYPath Riverfront Trail received about $640,000 of state money with more than $300,000 from you, through the Owen County Community Foundation, to make the first multi-use trail in Owen County.

Then, the legislature continued funding for a fourth round of grants, announced in December 2023. In all, Next Level Trails has provided $180 million in trail grants, combined with $71.3 million in local match dollars to create more than 217 miles of trail.

That is impressive. But keep in mind ONLY ONE-THIRD OF NEXT LEVEL TRAIL APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN FUNDED. This was a very competitive grant, leaving $250 million of unmet need in local communities across Indiana.

Today, I stand at the end of the paved MYPath, where it meets River Road. I can almost see McCormick's Creek. How do we get there? Then, how do we make the next connection to a growing trail system in Monroe County to bring more visitors, and their wallets, here?

The Holcomb administration has left town. The Mike Braun administration is taking over. No one knows what will happen to trail funding.

I serve on the Board of the Greenways Foundation. That is why I was speaking to legislators from other states. Our partners with the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy had set up a booth at the National Conference of State Legislators.

Those legislators were interested in our Next Level Trails success and the creation of a bipartisan legislative Trails Caucus.

The Greenways Foundation and our partners are asking the 2025 Indiana General Assembly for $30 million for trails projects. The momentum and success of trail projects around Indiana are the envy of other states.

Let's keep it going. MYPath has big plans for the future. McCormick's Creek State Park is close. As I said earlier, the difference between fantastic plans and actual trails is money.

Kyle Hannon is the project manager for the MYPath Trail System. He has served in many community development and trail connection roles throughout the state. On many weekends, he serves as an interpretive specialist at McCormick's Creek State Park.