In March, Josh Robeson, project coordinator for the Pumpkinvine Trails Coalition, attended the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., representing the Pumpkinvine Trails Coalition. The annual three-day event, organized by the League of American Bicyclists, brings together advocates, educators, and community leaders from across the country for seminars, collaboration, and Capitol Hill meetings with elected officials.

Indiana’s delegation, which included representatives from Bike Indiana, Indiana Trails Community, and the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, advocated for several priorities: continued funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program and Safe Streets for All through the Transportation Reauthorization Bill, protections for Vulnerable Road Users, preservation of the Railbanking program, and release of delayed RAISE grant funding.

Those efforts helped generate momentum around the stalled RAISE grants and renewed optimism for a planned trail connector between Mishawaka and Elkhart.