SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
Page 6
The Republican
Voices
ASK MR. TRAFFIC
Exploring Hendricks County
By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com
By Jackie Horn
Since this was our first time on a bike in several months, John and I thought we’d start with a short ride. To begin our journey, we parked at the Friendship Garden in Plainfield and unloaded our bikes. Crossing the White Lick Creek bridge, we rode north, past the athletic fields and Bicentennial Plaza. We ducked under Highway 40 via the underpass and continued winding along passing a pond and enjoying bird songs as we followed the trail through a wooded area. White Lick Trail intersects the Vandalia Trail slightly south of the Rec and Aquatic Center. A left turn would lead us toward the Saratoga housing addition area. Instead, we took a right and headed across the bridge and into Franklin Park.
The eastern terminus of the Vandalia Trail in Plainfield.
Easy Rider Last March when John and I moved to Hendricks County, we knew we’d be living in an apartment for a bit while we searched for a house to buy. The apartment was on the second floor and we weren’t allowed to store bicycles under the stairs or in the hall. We gave our bikes away, planning to replace them once we were settled. “The best-laid plans of mice and men…” After COVID struck, bicycles sold out everywhere. We couldn’t find a bike to buy. This spring we started the search again and finally managed to purchase bikes. I am so ready to explore all the bike trails in Hendricks County! The first bike path John and I wanted to explore was the Vandalia Trail. We had seen the trail from Dan Jones Road and were curious. Named after the former railroad corridor on which it’s built, the Vandalia Trail is currently 17 miles in length running from Greencastle in Putnam County through Coatesville at the edge of Hendricks County and terminating in Amo. Restroom facilities, tool stands, and air pumps are available at both Hendricks County locations thanks to the HC Parks and Recreation which maintains the trail segment. This section of the developed trail ends here. The trail begins again on the western edge of Plainfield near the intersection of CR 500 West and 400 South. (Plans are in the works to complete the path, connecting the western segment with the Plainfield section.) From here the Vandalia Trail runs parallel to Highway 40 (with a few jogs) to the east side of town near Perry Road. It was just announced last month that the town was awarded a grant to build another 2.3 miles extending the eastern terminus to Raceway Road. When completed, Vandalia Trail will run 34 miles joining Greencastle to Indianapolis through Putnam, Hendricks, and Marion Counties.
Up to this point, the trail doesn’t come close to a street and young, inexperienced bike riders would have no worries. For this next section, the path crosses city streets. It continues to be separated from the roadway, but cyclists need to stop for cross traffic and little people need to be closely supervised. Most of the trail is gently winding and flat, but at the end of East Street is a rather sharp zigzag and a WICKED hill (although it could be I’m just a wimp. I was huffing but made it without walking the bike!) The route levels off, continuing through a “tunnel” of trees and bushes which separate the track from neighborhoods and commercial buildings. The trail is very popular and we met several joggers, walkers, and other cyclists along the way. Trail-users must observe stop signs as the path crosses automobile traffic at Avon Avenue, Carr Road, and Dan Jones Road before terminating in the parking lot at Township Line Road and Hunt Street. Round trip, the ride was about 7.5 miles. With this first ride under our belts, John and I are ready to tackle the other local trails. Hmmm, what to do next? B&O? Washington Township? White Lick? So many choices! Now all we need is more time.
Our Readers Write
A Note From Bee The wheels on the Beemobile went round and round. What was the Beemobile you may ask? It was a red 1986 Chevy station wagon. It was transportation for my daycare kids from 1981-1986 The kids and I loved the Beemobile. It took us to all kinds of fun places. The parents of my daycare kids did not mind that we were on the road several times a week. There were so many things to do at the Children’s museum especially at Christmas time. We could go to the State Museum, ride the Ayres train and talk to Santa.. The zoo was one of our favorite stops. We would play at the park and take hikes. The library had story times. The kids heard a story and did a craft. It was a sad, sad day when the Beemobile died. ______________________________________________
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Leah woke up yesterday morning early. She was so excited because she was getting a new kid in her class! How nice to live in the world of a 7-year-old where you welcome everyone in with open arms. Where you are excited for the “new people” sight unseen. Where you don’t care what kind of shoes they are wearing, the color of their skin or the story that brought them to your classroom! How nice to be so gentle and open to the change that is coming in your day without knowing if this new neighbor is going to be the valedictorian or the class clown. How wonderful to not care about whether the new kid will pick up their pencils and keep their desk clean or if they will be sloppy and leave their desk next to yours a mess. How wonderful to only care about the potential of a new friend for you to play with, live next to and to share your stories with. How wonderful to be able to have the open mind and heart of a 7 year old! Deelynna Oliphant ______________________________________________
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A Double Yellow Line Is It Always Two Lines? A double yellow line — you know what I’m talking about. So why do we avoid the topic? It’s come to the point I hesitate to even bring up the subject, especially at parties or family gatherings. And it’s not always simple yellow paint, you know. Many times it’s a product called thermoplastic — a plastic polymer. I know it sounds futuristic but its chemical properties allow it to become soft when heated and hard when cooled. It’s much thicker than paint and lasts a long time. And the best part — it’s expensive. But what exactly does a double yellow line mean? No one knows, but let me take a stab at it. According to my computer laptop etch-a-sketch thingy, a double yellow line indicates maximum or special restrictions. My traffic engineering instincts suggest if you should happen upon a double yellow line in the wild, turn around and go home. If, however, you choose to proceed, take note of these specific maximum or special restrictions: a double yellow line (i.e., two solid lines, not dashed) means that particular part of the roadway is for 2-way traffic and crossing the double yellow line for passing is prohibited for traffic traveling in either direction. And not to overwhelm you with yellow centerline creeds, but there are two more options for two-lane, twoway roadways, 1) a dashed yellow line (where passing with care is permitted), and 2) a double yellow line consisting of one solid line and one dashed line (where passing with care is permitted but only on the side with the dashed line). Note that a single solid yellow line is not used as a centerline marking on a two-way roadway. And centerline markings on undivided two-way roadways (i.e., with four or more lanes) are always double yellow lines. Now you may notice some roadways do not even have marked centerlines. The decision to mark a centerline is based on roadway width and the average number of daily vehicles using the roadway. And there are other scenarios where centerline markings are appropriate, but to make those determinations you need something affectionately referred to as, a traffic engineering study, and good luck getting one of those… ______________________________________________
A Squirrel About Town By Archy “Seems you have an abundance of cons in the community,” Archy observed. “I’m talking about the people who are against it. And the people who for it expend their time and energy being against the people who are against it. A cacophony of cons, you might call it.” Archy has a fondness for alliteration and paused to give it full effect. “Against what?,” I asked. “Everything, anything,” It seems you folks are fond of the negative,” he observed. I admitted it was a problem among humans. Hanging onto the past and while looking to the future can make the present difficult. I asked Archy if he had any advice. “The time for advice was 25 years ago,” he said. “Now is the time to deal with what you have. It’s like Jerome K. Jerome said, “Life is not a game of chess, the victory to the most knowing; it is a game of cards, one’s hand by skill to be made the best of.” Archy has a knack for quoting some of my favorite authors. “Yes, old Jerome was quite the humorist,” the squirrel said. The pineapple tin scene in “Three Men and a Boat” always gives me a chuckle.”
