LOSANTVILLE, Ind. (April 19, 2007) - Governor Mitch Daniels today joined community leaders and officials from Cardinal Greenway to officially open 14 miles of new greenway as a part of the state's plan to develop a comprehensive system of trails.

"There's never been a time when the quality of life that Indiana can offer to our citizens and the people who can bring businesses here has been so important," said Daniels.  "By encouraging Hoosiers to be more mindful of their personal fitness we can continue to move toward lowering health care costs and make Indiana a better place to live." 

The new section of Cardinal Greenway includes seven miles of paved trails and seven miles of equestrian trails, extending the trail through the towns of Blountsville and Losantville.  Cardinal Greenway is a 60-mile privately owned and operated not-for-profit greenway that runs from Richmond to Marion.  It has been built as a public-private partnership utilizing nearly $9 million of state and federal funding as well as $3 million in private donations. This is part of the northern section of the American Discovery Trail which is being developed by states nationally to span the United States from coast to coast as a component of the national trails plan. 

"With Governor Daniels' support, Cardinal Greenway continues to be a unique model of how public and private entities can work together to create a trails infrastructure that can be enjoyed by Hoosiers of all ages," said Lenette Freeman, Cardinal Greenway Executive Director.  "Because of the governor's support, those of us who work on trails and greenways across the state have renewed energy for trails development.  In addition, our volunteers have been instrumental from the very beginning in helping with construction, maintenance, security, programming, and stewardship to ensure that the nearly 250,000 people who visit the trail each year can continue to utilize it for decades to come."

Last May, Governor Daniels announced that Indiana would double its financial support of trails development from $10 million to $20 million annually through a combination of state and federal funding sources.  In December, the state finalized a comprehensive statewide trails development plan that will be implemented over the next 10 years with the goal of placing every Hoosier within 15 minutes of a trail.

Link to the Indiana State, Trails, Greenways and Bikeways Plan: http://www.in.gov/dnr/outdoor/planning/trailsplan/trailsplan2006.pdf

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