Friends of the Panhandle Pathway President John Bawcum says even though funds are available to extend the paved trail north to the depot at the corner of Main and Logan Streets in downtown Winamac, that project won’t be done until 2014.
“The Safe Routes to School money kicks in, the R.T.P. money kicks in, and we start heading down to the depot and beyond. The holdup is because of all the red tape, the environmental study and all that business. We have to get all that in place, get all that covered this year,” said Bawcum.
Meanwhile, Bawcum asked the Winamac Town Council to split the cost of paving a 374-foot section of the trail between the town limit and Burson Street with the nonprofit Friends of the Panhandle Pathway. Each entity will spend $2,805 to pave the spur between Burson and Superior Streets. Once that is done, the Panhandle Pathway will be paved between Winamac and Kenneth in Cass County. Winamac Town Council President John Plowman says this will be a great draw for the community.
“It’s going to bring people in to ride a long trail. What would that bring it up to, about 22 miles one way? Yeah, I think we need to go ahead with it,” Plowman said.
Council members agreed to take money for the paving from their Rainy Day Fund so the work can be done.
