It was a packed crowd at Fishers City Hall Tuesday night for the listening session about the proposal to transform the Nickel Plate Line into a biking and hiking trail. There were people in favor of the trail proposal, there was a large contingent on hand advocating continued train use of the line, and there were attendees just wanting to listen before taking a position.
‘I’ve got mixed feelings on this one,” local resident Christina Minear told me. “That’s why I came tonight to find out and hear from both sides what’s going on.”
Fishers Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath opened the event, introducing people from the mayor’s office, police department, engineering and parks, all staffing tables to take comments and ask questions.
“We have a lot of public hearings in our community,” McGrath told the crowd. “Sometimes, what that means, is the first ten people at the (microphone) are the ones to steal the show. Tonight, what we want to do is give each of you an opportunity to talk with all of us (with the city).”
Former Fishers Town council member Mike Colby was not happy with the format of the listening session.
“The way these things are setup now, you’re going up and asking questions about the trail,” Colby told me. “My question is, can we keep the rail and eliminate the trail, or in some cases they want to do both. But it’s not setup that way. The basic question of how many people support the trail and how many people support the rail hasn’t even been addressed. There wasn’t an opportunity to even get up and ask that question.”
Colby also asked why Mayor Fadness was not in attendance for the listening session.
Fishers City Spokesperson Ashley Elrod says the mayor had a conflict. He attended the Advancing Indiana Municipalities dinner Tuesday night. Mayor Fadness leads the legislative committee for that group.
Joe Eaton, a Fishers resident since 1990, liked the way the session was organized.
“It’s a great turnout tonight, I think it’s a great format that people are getting the opportunity to ask individual questions,” said Eaton. “Being a resident of Fishers since 1990, I think the trail is a phenomenal opportunity, great amenity to enhance the community in a way that we really haven’t had.”
The City of Noblesville will host a listening session Thursday night, March 23rd, 6-8pm, at their city hall.
Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County announced February 28th a proposal to convert the 9.2 mile Nickel Plate Rail Line to a biking and hiking trail, much like the Monon. The project would cost about $9 million. The idea has drawn praise from those wanting to expand such trails, but there has been vehement opposition from those wanting the line to remain a train rail line.
