Bike Fest Brings Attention To Cycling
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
It kicked off Friday morning with a four-hour Ride Walk Warsaw Winona Lake Bicycle Pedestrian Community Summit at Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse with local and state guest speakers.
Greg Demopoulos, Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club president, said that part of the festival is bringing attention to bicycling. This is National Bike to Work Week and Friday was National Bike to Work Day.
The city’s Bicycle Friendly status expires next year, and it has to submit its plan this year to be renewed next year.
“We brought in speakers today representing health, government, The Cultural Trail and local government to provide encouragement and updates on our Bicycle Friendly status and how businesses can help by being partners with that initiative,” he said.
The Summit kicks off the festival, Demopoulos said, adding that the focus of the festival has moved from a competition event to a more holistic event for everyone.
Fred Helfrich, Ride Walk Advisory Committee, said the Summit was to get the business community engaged and to hear more about what’s going on. It takes “time, talent and treasure” to make the festival happen, he said, and organizers want the city to get to the next level, Silver, of being a Bicycle Friendly Community. Currently, Warsaw is at the Bronze level. Asked what that would take, Helfrich said more infrastructure, more education and more “butts on bikes.”
The Fat & Skinny Festival is in its 13th year. In its first year it had 16 volunteers, Helfrich said. Demopoulos said it now has 174.
“It’s amazing to meet the number of people who turn out for this thing,” Helfrich said, adding that there were 335 riders in the Mass Community Kick-Off Ride in 2015 from the Village at Winona to downtown Warsaw.
He said part of the festival’s success is due to the support from the city.
“The city has been totally on board with this. The mayor has been a joy to work with,” he said.
Winona Lake Town Coordinator Craig Allebach spoke about the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan progress. He talked about how it got started in 2007 with a couple of miles and then each year has grown to connect more of the planned linear trail. Work continues to add to the trail and connect it all, with work on Main Street, CR 350N, Husky Trail and Pierceton Road.
The proposed next extension would be to take the Heritage Trail in Winona Lake out to CR 250 and Lakeland Christian Academy and possibly to Stonehenge’s clubhouse. That would add an additional 1 to 2 miles for a cost of $1 million to $2.4 million, with a local match of $465,000 if funding is secured from Indiana Department of Transportation grants.
Allebach also spoke about the roundabout at Argonne Road and Winona Avenue, which is still in the planning stages. The $1.7 million project would require a $363,000 local match, which Allebach said the Winona Lake Redevelopment Commission has committed to. Funding for it could come from the Stellar Communities program if Warsaw is named the finalist, or from an INDOT grant. If it’s from Stellar, Allebach said the roundabout could be completed in three to five years – but wouldn’t even start until 2021 if funding comes from INDOT.
Karen Haley, executive director of Indianapolis Cultural Trail Inc. spoke about the 8-mile trail and how it goes all around the downtown Indianapolis area.
“It is the hub for Central Indiana’s greenway system,” she said.
ICT Inc. keeps it clear of snow and ice during the winter so it’s available 365 days a year. It also has lighting so it’s open 24/7, she said. People have come to depend on it to get around and it’s not just for bicycles.
The Cultural Trail has seven bus shelters, and is connected to the city’s bus system. The shelters also are pieces of art, she said.
“What sets it apart is that Indianapolis gave up a vehicle lane of travel for the trail for pedestrians and bicyclists,” she said.
It’s universally accessible and cost $63 million, of which $26.5 million was raised privately and the rest from grants.
Dan Remington, customer service manager for the Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program in Indianapolis, said the bike share program was launched April 22, 2014, with 25 stations and 250 bicycles, mostly on the Cultural Trail. The bicycles are “super user-friendly” and have two baskets, lights and a bell. After two years, the program is up to 27 stations in the city with plans to add two more this year.
To take part in the program, Remington said a person purchases access to the system for a period of time – $8 for 24 hours or $80 for a year.
“It gives you access for 30-minute trips,” he said. If a person keeps a bike out longer, they are charged a usage fee.
In the first year of the program, 108,049 total bike trips were taken.
“It’s one of the higher performing bikeshare programs in the country,” Remington stated.
Kim Irwin, Health by Design executive director, said her organization is a coalition of diverse partners working to ensure that communities throughout Indiana have neighborhoods, public spaces and transportation infrastructure that promote physical activity and healthy living. She advocated for Winona Lake, Warsaw and Kosciusko County to have a Complete Streets policy in place. Currently, 19 policies are in place in Indiana.
Warsaw Community Schools serves 7,200 students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade and has 1,600 employees, Chief Academic Officer David Robertson told those at the Summit. The school corporation covers 35 miles from north to south and 24 miles east to west. He said it’s working on the idea of having bicycle-friendly schools.
Last on the agenda was Warsaw Community Development Corporation Executive Director and Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rob Parker. His message was that trails equals business for the community and increased home values.
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It kicked off Friday morning with a four-hour Ride Walk Warsaw Winona Lake Bicycle Pedestrian Community Summit at Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse with local and state guest speakers.
Greg Demopoulos, Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club president, said that part of the festival is bringing attention to bicycling. This is National Bike to Work Week and Friday was National Bike to Work Day.
The city’s Bicycle Friendly status expires next year, and it has to submit its plan this year to be renewed next year.
“We brought in speakers today representing health, government, The Cultural Trail and local government to provide encouragement and updates on our Bicycle Friendly status and how businesses can help by being partners with that initiative,” he said.
The Summit kicks off the festival, Demopoulos said, adding that the focus of the festival has moved from a competition event to a more holistic event for everyone.
Fred Helfrich, Ride Walk Advisory Committee, said the Summit was to get the business community engaged and to hear more about what’s going on. It takes “time, talent and treasure” to make the festival happen, he said, and organizers want the city to get to the next level, Silver, of being a Bicycle Friendly Community. Currently, Warsaw is at the Bronze level. Asked what that would take, Helfrich said more infrastructure, more education and more “butts on bikes.”
The Fat & Skinny Festival is in its 13th year. In its first year it had 16 volunteers, Helfrich said. Demopoulos said it now has 174.
“It’s amazing to meet the number of people who turn out for this thing,” Helfrich said, adding that there were 335 riders in the Mass Community Kick-Off Ride in 2015 from the Village at Winona to downtown Warsaw.
He said part of the festival’s success is due to the support from the city.
“The city has been totally on board with this. The mayor has been a joy to work with,” he said.
Winona Lake Town Coordinator Craig Allebach spoke about the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan progress. He talked about how it got started in 2007 with a couple of miles and then each year has grown to connect more of the planned linear trail. Work continues to add to the trail and connect it all, with work on Main Street, CR 350N, Husky Trail and Pierceton Road.
The proposed next extension would be to take the Heritage Trail in Winona Lake out to CR 250 and Lakeland Christian Academy and possibly to Stonehenge’s clubhouse. That would add an additional 1 to 2 miles for a cost of $1 million to $2.4 million, with a local match of $465,000 if funding is secured from Indiana Department of Transportation grants.
Allebach also spoke about the roundabout at Argonne Road and Winona Avenue, which is still in the planning stages. The $1.7 million project would require a $363,000 local match, which Allebach said the Winona Lake Redevelopment Commission has committed to. Funding for it could come from the Stellar Communities program if Warsaw is named the finalist, or from an INDOT grant. If it’s from Stellar, Allebach said the roundabout could be completed in three to five years – but wouldn’t even start until 2021 if funding comes from INDOT.
Karen Haley, executive director of Indianapolis Cultural Trail Inc. spoke about the 8-mile trail and how it goes all around the downtown Indianapolis area.
“It is the hub for Central Indiana’s greenway system,” she said.
ICT Inc. keeps it clear of snow and ice during the winter so it’s available 365 days a year. It also has lighting so it’s open 24/7, she said. People have come to depend on it to get around and it’s not just for bicycles.
The Cultural Trail has seven bus shelters, and is connected to the city’s bus system. The shelters also are pieces of art, she said.
“What sets it apart is that Indianapolis gave up a vehicle lane of travel for the trail for pedestrians and bicyclists,” she said.
It’s universally accessible and cost $63 million, of which $26.5 million was raised privately and the rest from grants.
Dan Remington, customer service manager for the Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program in Indianapolis, said the bike share program was launched April 22, 2014, with 25 stations and 250 bicycles, mostly on the Cultural Trail. The bicycles are “super user-friendly” and have two baskets, lights and a bell. After two years, the program is up to 27 stations in the city with plans to add two more this year.
To take part in the program, Remington said a person purchases access to the system for a period of time – $8 for 24 hours or $80 for a year.
“It gives you access for 30-minute trips,” he said. If a person keeps a bike out longer, they are charged a usage fee.
In the first year of the program, 108,049 total bike trips were taken.
“It’s one of the higher performing bikeshare programs in the country,” Remington stated.
Kim Irwin, Health by Design executive director, said her organization is a coalition of diverse partners working to ensure that communities throughout Indiana have neighborhoods, public spaces and transportation infrastructure that promote physical activity and healthy living. She advocated for Winona Lake, Warsaw and Kosciusko County to have a Complete Streets policy in place. Currently, 19 policies are in place in Indiana.
Warsaw Community Schools serves 7,200 students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade and has 1,600 employees, Chief Academic Officer David Robertson told those at the Summit. The school corporation covers 35 miles from north to south and 24 miles east to west. He said it’s working on the idea of having bicycle-friendly schools.
Last on the agenda was Warsaw Community Development Corporation Executive Director and Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rob Parker. His message was that trails equals business for the community and increased home values.
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