02/15/2025
The illumination of our bike trail makes it safer and easier to access our downtown. Captured in this photo is the evolution of the trail's lights.
At first, there was only the small light attached to the pole in the background of this photo. This was a step in the right direction, but provided only a minimal amount of light.
Now, pictured in the foreground, we have 68 new solar lights that were approved by the Park Board and installed earlier this year. These lights come on at dusk at a low setting and get brighter as they detect motion around them. The best part: the lights leave no carbon footprint and have no energy cost.
This idea was born from a safety concern when I was the cross country coach at HHS. I would send the boys out for a morning run at 5:00am and raised the idea of illuminating our trail. That’s were the original lights came from, and we were even able to have NIPSCO place two lights up just north of Cady Ditch. Then around five years ago, I re-introduced the idea of solar lights to our Park Board, and they were 100% behind it.
Enhancements like these provide a brighter path for our residents and visitors on the trail, but more importantly, a brighter path forward for our town. Let's keep moving forward on that path.
