On Thursday, the City of Noblesville issued a statement regarding a letter sent by the Hoosier Rails to Trails Council (HRTC) to Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear and members of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners.
HRTC’s letter advocates for a rail and trail system along the Nickel Plate Corridor. Also in the letter, HRTC offers the organization’s assistance in developing the Nickel Plate Trail project into a rail-with-trail, instead of a trail-only. The letter invites the Owners (Noblesville, Fishers and Hamilton County) to schedule a meeting with HRTC to discuss the proposal in more detail.
The City of Noblesville responded by stating:
The City of Noblesville opposes incorporating a recreational trail alongside the Nickel Plate Railroad south of Conner Street. In 2017, engineering staff determined the option of safely combining rail with trail was not feasible given the substantial increase in costs to pay for right-of-way, property acquisition and bridge widening – not to mention the safety hazards this proposal would create.
The rail line from Forest Park in Noblesville to Atlanta is being preserved and improved for train excursions to be operated by the Nickel Plate Heritage Group that will create a world-class amenity for everyone to enjoy that is both safe and cost effective. As sole operator of the rail line, the Nickel Plate Heritage Group has no desire to run excursions south of Downtown Noblesville at this point in their planning.
Furthermore, in a letter written to the City of Noblesville in 2014, the Indiana Transportation Museum (ITM) board of directors opposed the city’s plans to build the Riverwalk Depot Pocket Park near the White River Greenway Bridge because “the consequences of mixing pedestrians and trains can be tragic.” ITM went on to write that the design of recreational amenities adjacent to railroads can “create a potentially dangerous environment for the public.”
Noblesville’s response included the following additional points:
- According to the Federal Highway Administration, the average corridor width for rail and trail combined is 126 feet with the trail averaging 8 to 10 feet. The existing right-of-way of the Nickel Plate corridor measures 14 to 50 feet for a proposed trail width of 14 feet.
- If rail and trail were to be built together, new bridges would need to be funded and constructed over Stony Creek and Allisonville Road – in addition to crossings over multiple culverts. The current rail bridge over Allisonville Road is approximately 14 feet wide, which is simply not wide enough to include both rail and trail.
- In several Noblesville neighborhoods, combining rail with trail would have threatened the tree line, wiped out landscape barriers, required land acquisition from residents and businesses and required fencing that would cut off access to the trail from one side – while potentially endangering the lives of pedestrians who would likely attempt to cross over the railroad tracks. Instead, the city’s proposed trail-only project for the corridor will safely convert the existing rail corridor to a trail without any loss of property or installation of fencing.
- Noblesville’s Riverwalk Depot Pocket Park was completed in fall 2015, which was the last full year that ITM operated excursion trains on the Nickel Plate – and after its busiest season had ended.
Thanks to Deputy Mayor Steve Cook, for continuing to promote the Taxpayer funded Heritage Express Railroad north of Noblesville. The engineering statics quoted have been taken out of context, and no engineering studies have actually been done by Noblesville on how the trail and rail COULD coexist. Also not mentioned is the cost that Noblesville would share to put a walkway bridge over 146th at a cost of over $3,000,000.
I whole-heartedly support Rails with Trails. I am thoroughly disgusted with the under-handed way this has been dealt with.
It would be a shame to lose the rail line that has served the public for years and has been a tourist draw to both Fishers and Noblesville. The associated Indiana Transportation Museum along with its transportation support to the Indiana State Fair would be a shame to lose.
This is without a doubt the biggest scam in our county’s history,and myself and nearly everyone I know plan on voting these criminals out of office, and rallying everyone else in the community to do the same. This whole thing smells of malfeasance and corruption.
These people are bold face liars! “Engineering staff” in 2017 said rails WITH trails cannot be done..Where is that report?What engineering staff?Produce that report! You can’t because it doesn’t exist,the cities NEVER did any such study! However, a group that SPECIALIZES in rails WITH trails has concluded that this line is a perfect candidate for rails WITH trails. Noblesville says it can’t be done and yet it has been done right here in their own community! A shocking disregard for the truth by the cities of both Noblesville and Fishers, and makes me embarrassed to be a resident in a town full of corruption at the highest level. See you at the polls to vote ’em all out!!