IN Downtown April 2017

Page 1

INSIDE

Mother’s Day Events �������A4

Zoo opens Community ��������������������������� A6 Calendar ���������A16

INfortwayne.com

“Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle!”

FairfieldRealtors_64455 3.25x1.5 INFW 4-28-17

75 md sz 4c

Many activities upcoming for cycling enthusiasts

By Megan Knowles mknowles@kpcmedia.com

“Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike.” - Queen May is gearing up to be an exciting month for Fort Wayne cycling enthusiasts. Fans of the city’s bike share program will be happy to learn the annual membership has been cut in half, and will now be $30. Monthly memberships are $15 and day passes are also available. The bike share program, in its second year, is part of an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan to encourage more “active transportation,” as city spokesperson Mary Tyndall described it. The emphasis on making Fort Wayne more accessible to biking, walking and running came from the desire of citizens that follow nationwide

COURTESY PHOTO

University of Saint Francis students ride around on Fort Wayne bike share bicycles. The annual membership for the Zagster bikes has been cut in half for 2017.

trends, bike share coordinator and senior planner Paul Spoelhof said. In its first year, Fort Wayne’s bike share program averaged 70 to 80 trips a week, Spoelhof said, with trips being most popular on the weekends.

In 2016, most people used the ride-share program for recreational purposes or to run errands downtown, he said, but the hope is to grow that audience to commuters as well. The drop in price was

part of that equation. While the original $60 annual fee might work in cities the size of Chicago, it wasn’t right for Fort Wayne, program organizers determined. Another aspect of growing ridership is the

Rain gardens slow runoff; city has info, incentives With more attention being paid to Fort Wayne’s rivers, the city’s utilities department wants people to know there is something they can do for the rivers right in their own backyards. The city’s rain garden program encourages residents to plant rain gardens at their home or business. A rain garden is “a garden that’s a shallow depression so it captures storm water runoff” for only 24 to 48 hours before the water soaks into the ground, landscape architect Stacey Haviland explained. With more hard surfaces like roads and roofs, rainwater cannot soak into the soil and often gets diverted to storm sewers, Haviland said. “The more development

we have the more storm water we have, which accumulates quicker in our rivers, which can lead to flooding,” she said. Rain gardens can also prevent contaminates from entering rivers, the chief among them being dirt. “The EPA says that sediment — just dirt, earth — in waterways is the most prevalent and most serious water quality impairment, so anything we can do to reduce just that dirt and grit and soil that goes into our storm sewers and into our rivers, that’s a good thing,” Mary Jane Slaton, rain garden program manager, said. The program started around 2008 when the city, in negotiating with the Environmental Protection Agency on a plan to reduce combined sewer overflows, opted to put $420,000 worth of fines

into the conservation program. In 2009 the city built about 20 rain gardens in area parks and city utility properties as well as at schools, churches and Science Central. In addition to creating demonstration rain gardens, the city has also created a rain garden curriculum for schools and materials for the general public as well, including workshops in the spring. Those who attend the workshops and build a rain garden could receive an incentive of up to $250 to reimburse them for the work in creating the garden, depending on its size. Workshops also offer a one-on-one opportunity for those interested in rain gardens, Slaton said. “We work with them in

plan to add more bikes and more bike stations, Spoelhof said. His hope is that in four to five years the city will see about 75 bike stations with about 300 bikes, he said. This is feasible based on the demand as well as

population density and demographics, as long as the community embraces the program, he said. “We believe … a system of that scale will serve Fort Wayne well,” Spoelhof said. In order to grow the program to this size, the city is reaching out to businesses to sponsor individual stations or help sponsor the system in general, he said. But the bike share program is only part of the picture. The city has launched KickstartFortWayne. com to showcase a list of 20 events happening in May, which coincide with National Bike Month. The events start with the Ride RMHC to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities on April 30, and include the Trek the Trails Kick-Off at Salomon Farm Park on May 2, the Fort4Fitness Spring Cycle See BICYCLE, Page A13

EL AZTECA RESTAURANT

Cinco de Mayo Celebration 2017 Island Vibe Party Thursday, May 4th from 7:00 - 10:00p.m. Open at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 5th. Party tent 4:00 - 11:00 p.m. $5 cover or $3 with school ID (includes appetizers)

Voted Best Mexican Restaurant 2008-2011, 2013-2016

All drinks $5 or less in the tent. D.J. Ric Ramos 7:00 - 11:00 p.m.

GIVE-A-WAYS ALL DAY!

See GARDEN, Page A14

Follow us on Facebook INfortwayne Publications

mknowles@kpcmedia.com

3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808

By Megan Knowles

KPC Media Group PROOF Corrections must be made by 12 28, 2017 p.m. 4/24 or ad willApril be assumed correct and run as is.

535 E. STATE BLVD. • www.elaztecarestaurant.com ElAzteca_66017 1/4 SQ INFW: 4/28/17 #75 Mark mj


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
IN Downtown April 2017 by KPC Media Group - Issuu