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NW Indiana Transformations Engage Bicycle Activists
Calumet Citizens Look to Connect Communities

By Jim Nugent

Change happens. In northern Indiana, heavy industries have been disappearing while small businesses grow. Factory worker row houses are demolished, while upscale subdivisions proliferate. Old factory towns, such as Hammond and Gary, have undergone wrenching transformations; and now they're coming back. Farther south, sleepy farm towns are reinvented as upscale suburban bedroom communities.

This process of industrial conversion and rapid residential growth has spurred road building and infrastructure improvements, presenting what local bicycling and transportation activists see as a moment of opportunity. So in December 2002, residents of Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties -- the three Indiana counties that border Lake Michigan -- formed Calumet Citizens for Connecting Communities, and dedicated themselves to creating an environmentally-friendly system of greenway corridors and bicycle-friendly roads stretching across Indiana, from Chicago to New Buffalo.

There's no lack of things to do. "The C4," as the group's members call themselves, are developing regional bicycle maps, encouraging communities to build bike racks, advocating for train/bicycle commuter connections, providing public input, working with planners and occasionally getting together for rides or trail cleanups.

C4 activities are coordinated by representatives from each of the three counties. Between monthly meetings, members share concerns, rants and political developments through a Yahoo e-mail group, CC4CC. They also have a web site that provides all the maps and information you need to successfully thread your way across northern Indiana on your bicycle.

More than 70 miles of off-road trail have already been built in the area and 40 more miles are now funded. The majority of these trails are along abandoned railroad corridors, utility easements and levees. The new Erie Lackawanna Trail between Hammond and Crown Point is the longest at 18 miles, while an 11-mile trail network in Munster was one of the pioneers. There exist eight principal trails with eight more soon to follow.

Shared on-road routes haven't been forgotten. The recently-completed LaPorte County Bikeways System has 420 miles with 20 loop rides, while the Porter County Bikeways System includes 142 miles. Although neither of these has marked lanes, they are signed for turns and direction. The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission is helping Lake County develop a similar system. Mitch Barloga, transportation planner with the commission, is working closely with C4 as they encourage communities in the area to create bicycle-friendly connections at pinch-points, that is, sections where the available space for a cyclist suddenly contracts.

On a grander scale, the cities of Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Gary and Portage are working together on what is known as the Marquette Project. U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky was one of the early proponents of this effort to develop a comprehensive master plan for the shoreline. The Marquette Project would establish a continuous pedestrian/bicycle trail along Lake Michigan from the Illinois state line to Portage, near the Michigan border. In addition, it calls for a 200-foot set-back for all buildings and recapturing 75 percent of the shoreline for public use.

Visit the C4's homepage at: www.geocities.com/calumetcitizens
Jim Nugent is a CBF member and frequent contributor on Southland topics