North Judson Town Council members received a request from representatives of the Prairie Trails Club when they met Monday night.
The Prairie Trails Club is an organization of volunteers that work to promote and maintain the Erie Trail through Starke County. Steve and Kathleen Lucas spoke on behalf of the club and requested permission to erect signage at some points along the Erie Trail.
A generous grant from the Hardesty Memorial Foundation totaling $12,000 was reportedly awarded to the Prairie Trails Club. The club reps explained that a portion of it that will help cover the cost of creating and putting up the signs on the Erie Trail.
Steve mentioned that if the money isn’t spent by February, it will have to be given back, so they’re hoping to get the signs up as soon as possible.
The Erie Trail runs a little more than 9 miles and is a part of two major trails that stretch across the whole country.
It is included in Indiana’s portion of the U.S. Bike Route 35 that starts in Canada and will eventually end in the Gulf of Mexico. The Erie Trail is also a part of the American Discovery Trail that runs from Delaware to California.
Steve stated that they will be utilizing the state approved signage for the Indiana Bike Route 35 as inspiration for the signs that will be put up in town. He added that they want to include information about both trails on the signs, which will require more descriptive directions to be placed on them.
He told members, “We would probably put cardinal directions with that because one is east/west and the other is north/south. One way you’d be going north on U.S. 35 Bike Route and that would be West on the American discovery trail and then flip that and that’s what you’d show the other way.”
The council members voted unanimously to allow the signs to be put up. The pair said they will be coordinating with Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe and Park Board members about where exactly the signs will be placed.
For more information about the organization visit prairietrailsclub.org . Below, you’ll find some of the maps that were provided during Monday’s meeting.
