http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/09/18/news/illiana/104b48dc0aadb3d3862570800003e5b5.txt

Bike trail to run from Calumet River to Crown Point when done

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Sunday, September 18, 2005 12:02 AM CDT

PAUL CZAPKOWICZ
Times Correspondent

LANSING  | Bicycling enthusiasts and proud politicians gathered on Saturday afternoon near the old train depot at Ridge Road and Grant Street for the official groundbreaking of the Pennsy Greenway bike trail.

"When it's all done we'll have a bike trail that will go from the Calumet River to Crown Point, and that's going to be part of the Grand Illinois Trail, which is a 475-mile bike trail here in Illinois," Lan-Oak Park District Director John Wilson said.

The complete length of the Pennsy Greenway will be 15 miles, three of which will run through Lansing. It would become the first off-road trail connection between Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois. It got its name from the fact that it will be built within the old Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way.

The proposed start of the Pennsy Greenway is at the Little Calumet River between Lansing and Calumet City, where the Burnham Greenway begins. It would then go through Lansing and on to Munster, Schererville and Crown Point, where it would meet the Erie-Lackawanna Trail.

"Our vision for this trail can be summed up in three areas," Wilson said. "The Lan-Oak Park District believes that this trail will increase socialization of the community, economics for the downtown area and the health of the community."

Village Trustee Anthony DeLaurentis said the process to buy the railroad property necessary to form the trail began about 14 or 15 years ago.

DeLaurentis also said the train depot will be rebuilt to match its original condition and a band shelter will be built near the depot.

Wilson said construction on the bike path would begin within the next month and should be completed next spring.

Lansing Village President Dan Podgorski announced additional developments. "The village will create new roadways, realign existing streets, and build cross connections through roadblocks that were created by the old rail line," he said.

 Podgorski also said an application is in the works for a grant to be used to lower the "hump" on Burnham Avenue and establish a bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Wilson thanked U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., for helping obtain $100,000 in federal money that will be used to connect the Pennsy Greenway to the Thorn Creek Trail in Lansing Woods.

Addressing the crowd, Jackson called the grant a "small contribution on behalf of the people of the United States for a well-deserved community and a well-deserved extension of an important project that links our communities through a bike trail through various important parts of our state." 

 Lansing resident and Historical Society member Don Olsen is excited about the future of the village.

 "I think it's something great for Lansing. This entire corner here they're going to update. This is going to be the hub of downtown Lansing now, I think."