City gets $1.79 million in funds

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GREENFIELD — The city of Greenfield now has $1.79 million in federal funds to invest to make two long-anticipated projects a reality — the Riley Literary Trail multi-use path and adding 24 flashing speed limit beacons in local school zones.

The funds come from the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is responsible for divvying up federal funds in the eight-county Central Indiana region. Greenfield was one of 15 communities selected to receive funding in this giving cycle.

The total cost of the two projects is roughly $2.5 million, with 80 percent coming from federal funding through the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The city of Greenfield will have to cover the remainder with money from its own coffers.

Construction on both projects is slated to begin in 2023.

The Riley Literary Trail has been a top priority in the downtown revitalization plan since 2013, said city planner Joanie Fitzwater. In a way, the trail would connect Greenfield past to the present and future, she said.

The multi-use path will connect the Riley Boyhood Home and Museum, retail and commercial businesses, neighborhoods and governmental services. It is intended to spur economic development along the trail, create an easier avenue for local tourism, and connect disconnected cultural districts downtown.

Based loosely on the Cultural Trail in Indianapolis, it would run from the Pennsy Trail through downtown and reconnect with the Pennsy Trail. It is expected to cost nearly $2.3 million.

The second project will install 24 flashing speed limit signs in school zones around the city, making those areas safer for students, said city engineer Jason Koch.

The signs will only be flashing when students are in school as a way to alert drivers that kids are present. When school is out of session, whether it be weekends or summer vacation, the signs will turn off, Koch said.

The flashing signs will be placed around the city as follows: four at Greenfield-Central High School; two at Greenfield Central Junior High School; eight between Greenfield Intermediate School and Harris Elementary School; two at JB Stephens Elementary School; seven at Weston Elementary School; and one at St. Michael Catholic School.

The project is expected to cost $241,050.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization had some $888 million to give away this year to communities, with funding being allocated for anything from road improvements to walking trails, said Anna Gremling, the group’s executive director.

It’s a competitive process, but Greenfield’s application rose to the top, she said.

Mayor Chuck Fewell this week accepted a symbolic check from the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the funds, and thanked all the city employees who worked hard to plan the two projects.

In the coming years, Greenfield will need to allocate some of its own funds to ensure these projects come to fruition.

“We’ll find it because it’s so important,” Fewell said.