Cardinal Line February 2021

February 16, 2021 Cardinal Greenways No Comments

Trail Traffic Up

If you were one of the thousands of people that used the Greenway in 2020 it probably seemed a little busier than usual. Trail use was up significantly from past years as our communities took to the trail to safely stay active and spend time outside. Our data shows increases in trail traffic of over 400% for some months compared to 2019 and an overall rise of nearly 50% for much of the year. This trend has continued as we enter 2021 and we look forward to another busy year on the Greenway!

Trail Work

While trail season is still a month or two away our Maintenance team is working hard to get the Greenway ready for another year. They’ve been out this Winter doing some cutting and removal of invasives from the edges of the trail to increase safety and visibility. They started at the Losantville trailhead and are currently nearing Muncie and will continue on through the next month or so.

Trail Founder

If you passed by our headquarters at the Muncie Depot last Summer you may have noticed a new addition. The bench pictured above was installed in honor of one of the Greenway’s founders Bill Peterson. He is one of the original three individuals who dreamed up the idea of the trail and was instrumental in bringing that vision to fruition and went on to become the first President of the Board of Directors. From that first lunch in 1992 came the award-winning trail system we enjoy today almost thirty years later. We greatly appreciate all his efforts and his family for this fitting recognition of his many contributions. Bill can be seen in the photo below with his family, all wearing their Greenway shirts of course!

Trail Stories

As we mentioned in our first story the Greenway was incredibly busy in 2020 and that has continued into the early stages of 2021. We’re so happy to see so many people out using the trail to walk, run, bicycle and stay active. This is a trend that has been seen nationwide and our friends at the Rails to Trails Conservancy are trying to capture people’s stories about the impact trails have had on them during the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve received some great feedback on our community’s experience with the Greenway and we encourage you to share yours with the RTC by clicking here.