From: Bill Kozar
Columbus
Recently, I received a Cummins email asking for input to a survey about Columbus. Perhaps many of you have seen it. It asked a number of questions about what Columbus needed in a specific area of downtown, including the riverfront, and the dam.
My thought on the dam is keep it, and repair it, even if the “city vision” of a grand riverfront park doesn’t get implemented. If you want to see what a riverfront park should look like, check out the one in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Getting back to the survey, there was also input allowed for suggestions. My suggestion is not as much connected to the specific downtown area, but it is connected in a way. After submitting the survey, I thought that while many people would see it, more would see it in The Republic.
My suggestion is that a new leg of the People Trail be developed connecting Mill Race Park at the southern end of the leg, with Owens Bend Park, at County Road 550N and North County Road 25E. The trail would include a short spur trail into Taylorsville. In a little more detail, the trail would exit Mill Race Park, looping up from under the bridge at Indianapolis Road and run along the east side of Indianapolis Road, then along U.S. 31, up to 550N. At that point, a short spur trail would run north to Friendship Drive on the south side of Taylorsville, while the main trail would continue to run east along 550N, where it would tie into the northern extension of the People Trail at Owens Bend Park. That would complete the circuit of the People Trail. It would add miles to the existing trail system, and make bike travel on a parallel trail along U.S. 31 safer than biking with the 55 to 65 mph — at least — traffic on the side of U.S. 31.
