With sunny skies and warmer than usual temperatures, Hancock County residents utilized the Pennsy Trail in various ways on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — Tereza Cristina Ribeiro and her young granddaughter, Claire Rocha, walked at a relaxed pace as they made their way down the Pennsy Trail near downtown Greenfield on Wednesday afternoon.
It was one of the first warm and sunny days of the year, and they were far from the only ones enjoying the path flanked by trees filled with chirping birds. People cruised by on bicycles. Dogs wagged their tails ahead of their leash-toting owners. Solo walkers strolled with headphones on while groups chatted with one another.
“I feel peaceful when I walk,” Ribeiro said. “I can bring my grandkids. I feel safe.”
Soon, trail-goers like herself and all the others on Wednesday afternoon will have the opportunity to experience even more of that peacefulness. Thanks to a grant from the state and a Hancock County match, the trail is getting a step closer to filling the gap between Greenfield and Cumberland.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources recently dispersed over $360,000 from the Next Level Trails program for extending the trail in Hancock County between County Roads 600W and 500W. The county’s match for the grant includes engineering and labor for laying the stone and asphalt.
Mary Ann Wietbrock, board president of Pennsy Trails of Hancock County Inc., expects work to start in the next month and complete this year.
When finished, it’ll just leave a gap between County Roads 400W and 150W. A section of the trail between County Roads 400W and 500W opened last August.
It marks a continuation of the Pennsy Trail group’s ultimate goal of connecting Greenfield, where the trail terminates at County Road 400E, to the western termination in Marion County at Indianapolis’ Ellenberger Park.
Working with property owners toward that objective is key, Wietbrock said.
“We want to be good neighbors when this trail is laid,” she added.
The progress follows the planting of 150 trees and 600 plants over the past couple years, mostly near a trail head at County Road 400W, thanks to a $7,000 grant from Duke Energy and $1,000 from the Hancock County Community Foundation. A small group of dedicated Pennsy Trail volunteers with the help of Elanco Animal Health employees participating in a company volunteer day saw to the plantings.
Wietbrock regularly sees how often the trail is used in Hancock County, from experienced cyclists to people carrying their groceries home.
“It’s a safe connector in a space that’s close to many homes,” she said.
She added the trail provides a place for children to play, families to spend time together and an opportunity for members of the community to be healthier. It’s accessible to those with disabilities as well.
Ribeiro applauds the plans to extend the trail. She said more and more houses being built in the city and surrounding area begs the need for more amenities and that it’s important to provide opportunities for exercise.
The Pennsy Trail was one of the first things she found to enjoy in the area after moving to Greenfield from Queens, New York a couple years ago.
She said that she and her granddaughter use the trail often when the weather is nice. Claire enjoys the birds and riding her bike.
Tyra Cass and her sons, Jonathan Cass and Jacob Price, were out on the trail too on Wednesday. It was Tyra’s first visit in a while, and she echoed Claire’s admiration of the birds.
Jacob, on the other hand, said he walks the trail several times a week. He also welcomes the extension.
“It would get more people to walk farther and explore more,” he said.
The Pennsy Trail is part of the National Road Heritage Trail, which aims to be Indiana’s first cross-state multi-use trail with 150 miles from Terre Haute to Richmond using the former Pennsylvania and Vandalia rail corridors, where possible, and closely following the Historic National Road U.S. 40. Several segments in central Indiana are called the Pennsy after the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
The Pennsy Trails in Hancock County group was established in 2013 to complete missing links of the trail in the county.
