Brown County will soon be part of a national bike route, with a new Indiana leg stretching from Indianapolis to Seymour.
Jim Schroeder with Adventure Cycling, a nationwide organization of touring bicyclists, presented the plans to the Brown County Commissioners Dec. 5. Schroeder also was there representing the Indiana Department of Transportation, which had given Schroeder the lead to create the scenic spur through Indiana.
INDOT will submit the application to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Currently, there are three other United States Bicycle Route systems in Indiana. The first is Chicago to southwest Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The second is from Michigan City to Jeffersonville. There’s also one from Terre Haute to Richmond.
The proposed fourth trail would go through Marion, Johnson, Morgan, Monroe, Brown and Jackson counties.
“When I saw the north-south route, I went, ‘They didn’t include Brown County; they didn’t include Monroe County.’ When you think of bicycling in Indiana, you think of those two counties,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder then made it his “mission” to create the scenic route and include Martinsville, Bloomington and Nashville, the line back up with the north-south route in place in Seymour.
“It’s very hilly, but if you talk to any bicyclist, if you want scenery, you have to have hills,” Schroeder said of the route.
He predicted that bicyclists will spend “a lot of time” in Nashville while riding on the route and that it will boost tourism here.
“The riders will enjoy it. Probably, when they come through Nashville, they’ll spend an extra day in Nashville because of Brown County State Park and because of all of your venues, restaurants and other establishments,” Schroeder said.
“They spend about $100 a day. If they stop overnight here, they spend more. It will definitely boost your tourism. The county and the town will benefit from it, too.”
As far as increased bike traffic, Schroeder estimated the new bike route would bring in around five to 10 more riders a day. “It’s really not going to be noticeable,” he said.
Brown County was the last county Schroeder needed to get a resolution from, stating the county’s support for the route’s development here.
As far as extra liability to the county in the event of an accident, Schroeder said there isn’t any.
“All of these riders are experienced and are used to sharing the roads with cars and trucks,” he said.
“Cyclists understand that there are cars, there are trucks that are going a lot faster. Whenever there is an interaction between bicyclist and a truck, a bicyclist loses. We accept that condition.”
Biddle said the county already regularly gets two tort claims a month for car crashes that happen on state highways here, which the county is not liable for. “We send those to our attorney and they send them a nice letter that says, ‘Sorry, but it’s not us,’” she said.
“As far as an increase in liability, there is no increase in liability. It’s just the number of people. It’s really the same language in this resolution that is in the Hoosier Hills Byway resolution, because you’re inviting people off of the interstate to come down your scenic byway. “
Biddle has been involved the process of establishing a scenic byway for general traffic on 25 miles of road through Brown County. The total route is about 200 miles, connecting interstates 70, 69 and 65 using parts of state roads 50, 58, 135, 46, 45, 252, 37, 446, 67 and 39, as well as several county roads. If it is established, this scenic byway would be the eighth in the state. The byway program’s purpose is to showcase scenery, history, culture and recreation along the route.
The commissioners did request that the a part of this new bike route through Brown County be moved off State Road 135 South. “Now, this path goes down Valley Branch (Road) to Christiansburg Road, then down to where it meets 135 (South),” Biddle said.
The only section of the route that’s on 135 South is near Van Buren Elementary School, where it is flat and wider.
Signage is not required for the bike route, but Schroeder said some local bicycle clubs and visitors bureaus in other counties use grants to put up signage or to make their own signs.
Schroeder said signage increases safety, too. “Usually, cars and truck traffic, the drivers, you’re trained in driver’s ed to pay attention to all of the signs. Sometimes your brain won’t see the bicyclist, but your brain will see a sign and comprehend that. That will help also for safety,” he said.
Biddle said on Dec. 19 that two groups would provide signage. “We just have to make sure if they get knocked down ,we notify them to replace them,” she said.
The county does not have any fiscal responsibility with the route. It will not require additional bike lanes or widening of roads.
“We’re designating a route and allowing them to sign it. It’s like the scenic byway,” Biddle said.
The motion for the resolution of support was tabled until the Dec. 19 meeting, where the commissioners approved the resolution unanimously.
The official route starts at Lake Lemon and goes down State Road 45 through Trevlac before going down Helmsburg Road to Nashville. From Nashville, the route will follow State Road 46 East out to Valley Branch Road, to Van Buren Elementary, then to Stone Head onto Bellsville Pike before hitting Christianburg Road, where the route will continue on into Jackson County.
The route is almost 30 miles long.
