City shares vision for Harrison Street Trail at open house

Wednesday afternoon city officials and representatives from USI had an open house for the Harrison Street Trail Project at the Marshall County Council of Aging office.   

Attendance wasn’t the best as officials were on hand to explain the project to those who will be directly impacted by the project.  They did receive some feedback about the project. They had questions about the impact on their property values and the impact on their front yards.

The proposed plan will connect two of the city’s parks together, Packard Woods and Magnetic Park.  It also connects to the Greenway Trail behind the Conservation Clubhouse.

The goal of the Harrison Street Trail is to connect the community and make traveling safer for those who walk. The project will provide new sidewalks where there are no sidewalks and upgrade the current sidewalks.

City Councilman Jeff Houin said he sees a big need for the trail as a safety factor.  A good portion of Harrison Street, on the west end, doesn’t have any sidewalks and he sees people walking in the street.  As vehicles travel in that area Houin said there isn’t any place for the walkers, runners, or bike riders to go.

While the Harrison Street Trail Project is still in the preliminary design phase, Councilman Don Ecker said this is the time for folks to see what the plans are and make comments and suggestions.    

Katie McLear, project manager from USI said, “We’re not even to 30% design, so we can take the feedback that we get today, tweak the design to make sure that it is an asset that is going to be beneficial for the community.”

City Councilman Robert Listenberger worked for the Plymouth Park Department and said the Greenway Trail is used by lots of people, from the young to those seniors who enjoy the trails to take a leisurely walk on a safe trail.

At this point, there hasn’t been a cost estimate, or a construction timeline announced.  The city is hoping to secure some additional grant money to help fund the project and using the feedback from Wednesday’s open house will help secure the final plans.