I was out of town when the announcement was made proposing a biking and walking trail along the Nickel Plate Rail Line running through Fishers and Noblesville.  I was able to post some updates on my www.LarryInFishers.com news blog while away.  If the reaction I have seen so far is any indication, we are in for a spirited debate about this idea.

Based on the February 28th announcement held in Fishers, Mayor Scott Fadness and Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear are both supporting the trail proposal.  At the county level, Commissioners Mark Heirbrandt and Christine Altman both appeared at the Fishers announcement in support of the plan.

In my view, there are a number of reasons Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is in favor of the trail proposal.  He has been a big advocate of these trails throughout Fishers and believes this is a way to continue building a feeling of community in the city.

But there is another reason.  Mayor Fadness was once a big supporter of connecting Fishers with a regional mass transit system.  That rail line was a key in establishing such a connection.  But the mayor has changed his tune on this issue in recent months.  In a podcast with me January 10th, Fadness said new technology will make mass transit as we know it obsolete in the not-too-distant future.  Self driving vehicles will disrupt all transportation modes as we know them now, the mayor says, much like what brick-and-mortar retailing is going through now.

Based on that, don’t look for Fishers to be supportive of spending more money to upgrade the Nickel Plate Rail Line.  I have seen varying estimates on how much would be needed to fix the safety problems on the rail line, but all are in the millions of dollars.  Estimates show the trail would cost $9.3 million.

So, plenty of important government leaders are getting behind the plan to convert the Nickel Plate Rail Line into something like the Monon Trail running through parts of Indianapolis and Carmel.  But there are people with other ideas.

The Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville has operated the Indiana State Fair trains for many years until 2016 – that’s when the track was declared unsafe.

The museum is an independent nonprofit organization and wants to repair the Nickel Plate Line to allow the Fair Train, along with other excursions sponsored by the museum, to resume.  The museum is proposing a joint-use plan, allowing both the train tracks to be utilized and have a trail along the same line at the same time.

There is also a group of people organizing to oppose the Nickel Plate Trail and push for rehabilitating the rail line.  They have established a Change.org petition and have a Twitter hashtag #SavetheNickelPlate

The City of Fishers is holding what it describes as a “community listening session” at 6pm, Tuesday, March 21st, at the City Hall Auditorium.  A second such session will take place in Noblesville on Thursday, March 23rd.

I expect to see a serious debate on this issue in the months ahead.  The lines are clearly drawn.  Do you want a new walking and bike trail along the Nickel Plate Corridor, or should the rail line be repaired and allow the trains to once again utilize the tracks?  If you have strong feelings, attend the listening sessions and let your elected officials know how you feel.