Category Archives: Pumpkinvine News

News articles for the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail

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Public-Private Partnership Results in Shipshewana Pumpkinvine Extension & Nearly $1m Grant

by John Yoder, Brittany Short & Norm Kauffmann

One of the final gaps in the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail has received funding for development. On Thursday, March 4th, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ NextLevel Trails program announced second round grant picks. This announcement comes nearly a near after the original decisions were due to be made; postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The town of Shipshewana became one of those recipients, securing $953,482 to extend the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail from County Road 850W into downtown Shipshewana and east to a trailhead on the northeast side of town.  According to Bob Shanahan, Shipshewana town manager, construction is set to begin this spring and be completed by fall 2021. And enthusiasm is high–with cyclists, commuters, and families are eager to enjoy all that the town has to offer, without the on-road risks.  

“Receiving this grant was a team effort,” said Brittany Short, Friends of the Pumpkinvine president. “It began with the previous town manager, Mike Sutter in 2016 and continued with the current town manager, Bob Shanahan and a lot of help from Norm Kauffmann and others.” 

“Receiving this grant was a team effort,”

Brittany short, board president

Just five years ago, prospects were grim that such a connection could be achieved. The cards were stacked against the Friends of the Pumpkinvine, who have been the grass-roots organizers and advocates for Pumpkinvine related construction projects for the better part of 30 years. Major sections of the current trail right-of-way, were in private ownership by parties unfavorable to it’s construction. 

But even so, former Friend’s Board President John Yoder wasn’t deterred. In the summer of 2016 he and former Friends board member Norm Kauffmann, who was also previously a Shipshewana Town Manager, decided to visit then Manager, Mike Sutter, to discuss the possibility of extending the Pumpkinvine to State Road 4 and even to the park east of town. 

At that meeting, Sutter was convinced by the men’s enthusiasm and gave approval for Kauffmann to develop a land acquisition strategy on behalf of the Town. Even though the Pumpkinvine was very popular with Shipshewana-area residents, Kauffmann’s job was daunting, as he had to convince no less than five property owners to sell or donate land for trail construction.  

Over the next year, Kauffmann worked to develop an ad hoc committee of supporters. Willie Christner, one of those supporters and a local businessman from the Amish community, ended up providing the first of several major breakthroughs in the path to completion. Christner offered to purchase one of the largest parcels from a landowner who was unfavorable to trail development, and then donate a strip of that property to the Town for trail construction, provided that the Town would rezone the parcel from industrial to agricultural. Kauffmann achieved that goal with the help of Bob Shanahan who, at the time, was the LaGrange County zoning administrator. Shanahan successfully gained approval from the county Zoning Board in 2017.   

Meanwhile, Kauffmann was in contact with the others who owned land along the proposed route. He discovered that two major landowners, Alvin and Elsie Miller and Levi and Joanna King, were also willing to donate a strip of their land for the trail. To recognize their generosity, Kauffmann invited the Millers, Kings and Christeners to the Friends of the Pumpkinvine 2017 Annual Meeting at the Spohn Ballroom in Goshen where they were introduced to the audience and received a warm round of applause by the group of 250 attendees.

In August 2017, Mike Sutter retired, and Bob Shanahan took over as Shipshewana town manager, and Kauffmann began working with him to move the project forward. But in 2018, negotiations with the two final landowners stalled. It became evident that without a bigger show of support from the town government on behalf of the community, talks could take many more years. With this in mind, Kauffmann engaged the help of newly elected Councilman Zac Stoltzfus, who had campaigned on the importance of bringing the Pumpkinvine into downtown. Stoltzfus championed the Pumpkinvine extension on the Town Council and garnered the council member’s support for the Trail’s land acquisition. In March of 2019 the Friends of the Pumpkinvine, in collaboration with the Town of Shipshewana, voted to purchase the two final parcels of land.

Meanwhile, Kauffmann formalized agreements with Alvin and Elsie Miller, Levi and Joanna King and Willie and Ester Christner to donate a 40-foot right of way for trail development. After more meetings and negotiating on the price for purchase, in October of 2019 the two remaining landowners signed a purchase agreement to sell the final parcels. The Friends of the Pumpkinvine closed on the land in early 2020. 

During 2019 while negotiations were underway, Friends board member John Ferguson was writing a grant for the project’s construction, to be submitted to the governor’s NextLevel Trail program — funded through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Ferguson submitted a draft of the proposal to Bob Shanahan who had engineering firm DLZ Corp. rework it for submission. The town submitted the updated grant, and the decision to award funds was made in March of this year. Important data for the grant submission was provided by a trail counter placed along the trail just west of County Road 850W in June of 2020. Friends board member, Bob Carrico, helped secure funding for it’s installation, knowing it would be critical to ongoing fundraising efforts. Carrico and fellow Friends’ board members Bud Wulliman and Cory Wilson installed the counter that showed between Jun 14, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021, 60,584 cyclists and 10,229 walkers used the trail in that location.

“Closing this gap in the trail was the work of many dedicated community members,” said Brittany Short, Friends president, “just like other parts of the Pumpkinvine were. It’s yet another example of how creative public-private partnerships can lead to wonderful outcomes. Thanks to Norm Kauffmann’s patient advocacy of the trail within the town of Shipshewana for all of those years, and to the others who generously donated time, energy and resources. We will have a safe route into Shipshewana by the end of the year; what a gift they’ve given to this community.”

And for trail enthusiasts across the region, this is good news indeed.

Donor Recognition Sign Installed Along CR 20

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Photos of the newly installed signs on 2/19/2021; cement base covered in plastic to allow time to cure.

 

If you’re driving along County Road 20 southwest of Middlebury, or are adventurous enough to be pedaling by, you may notice a new sign has appeared along the Trail. This Donor Recognition sign has been in the works for several years, and this February during the snowiest of spells, our friends over at Premier Signs worked their magic.

One side recognizes those who invested in the completion of the Trail between County Roads 33 and 20, and the other, which is yet to be finished, will eventually recognize those who contribute to the completion of the Trail segment between County Roads 20 and 35. 

A permanent stone base will be built once construction begins on the final segment of Trail. Etched into stonework in the base will be the names of those contributing $10,000 and more to Trail completion.  This is expected to happen in Spring of 2022. But for now, those donors can be found on the sign near the base.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all who’ve invested in this gift to our community.

 

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”-Helen Keller

The difference a trail makes: the area south of the bridge over the Little Elkhart River

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 Every time I ride the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail over the trestle bridge spanning the Little Elkhart River in Middlebury, I’m reminded of how bad the area south of the bridge looked before it was turned into the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. I remember it as something like a dump, and I’m amazed to see how much better it looks today with the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail on the east side and Krider World’s Fair Garden on the west. They make an inviting and pleasing place to visit or ride through. 

I’ve mentioned the transformation of the area south of the bridge to many of my riding companions over the years, but when I looked for a photo of the area to prove my point, I couldn’t find any in my Pumpkinvine picture collection.

Then today while scanning some old Pumpkinvine slides, I found one from 1989 that shows the area. The slide is indexed as “Looking south from Middlebury bridge.” You can also identify the area from two details in the photo. On the near left you see the railing of the bridge, and on the right is the windmill in Krider Garden. The area doesn’t look as junk-filled as I remember it, but keep in mind that it was another six years before the Pumpkinvine was built in this area, so it could have gotten worse in that time. 

It is also important to note that this view of Krider World’s Fair Garden is prior to its renovation. It was not in good shape in 1989. Together the new Garden and Pumpkinvine result in a striking transformation of this Middlebury area.

 

Shipshewana to build Trail extension in 2021 (updated map)

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In the autumn of 2019 Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail purchased two parcels of land needed for the trail extension. They closed on this parcel early in 2020 and transferred ownership to the Town of Shipshewana.

In late summer of 2020 Shipshewana received the final donation of land need to extend the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail from County Road 850 W into town. Construction of one mile of trail is expected to start in the spring of 2021. A parking lot and Trailhead will be located off of Depot St.

Trail maintenance donations at work

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Many sections of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail are over 10 years old. Erosion threatens to undermine the asphalt at some locations where the trail was built on a raised railroad bed. On May 1st Elkhart County Parks used a front loader tractor to move 100 tons of #53 gravel to an eroded area near County Road 26 just east of County Road 31. Four Friends volunteers spread the gravel after it was delivered by the tractor. Other sites need similar repair and Friends expect the work to continue into 2021.

The collaboration between Friends and Elkhart County Parks provides considerable savings compared to hiring a contractor. Friends bought the gravel with trail maintenance funds donated by trail supporters.

Photo of a tractor front loader delivering gravel to a trail repait site.

Photo of a tractor front loader delivering gravel to a trail repair site. The collaboration between Friends and Elkhart County Parks provides considerable savings compared to hiring a contractor. Friends bought the gravel with trail maintenance funds donated by trail supporters.

Photo of volunteers spreading gravel at a trail repair site.

Volunteers at worksite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAQs about the new Pumpkinvine section between CR 33 and CR 20

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Q: Is this section finished?

A: No, it is rideable, but not finished. Additions will include privacy fencing near the overpass and at CR 33, a donor- recognition area, a second entrance-exit to County Road 20 and signage.

Q: Why is there a curb along part of the trail just north of the overpass?

A: The curb is designed to keep gravel from the lane just south of the trail from coming onto the asphalt trail. This lane gives the landowners access to the land they own south of the trail.
Q: Why is there an overpass in this section?
A: The overpass is the result of negotiations between the Friends of the Pumpkinvine, Elkhart County Parks and the adjacent landowners who had land and buildings on both sides of the trail. The Friends and Elkhart County Parks did not want the trail to leave the old Pumpkinvine corridor in this area because it would have put the trail into wetlands. But the landowners were reluctant to divide their property with the trail.  The Friends of the Pumpkinvine and Elkhart County Parks promised an overpass if the landowners permitted the trail to stay on the old Pumpkinvine corridor and avoid the wetlands in this section.
Q: Why are there concrete sections on the trail?
A: One concrete section along County Road 20 is for a driveway and a possible future driveway. The others represent easements that allow the landowner with land on both sides of the corridor to cross the corridor with heavy equipment now or in the future. These concrete easements are consistent with other easements along the Pumpkinvine.

Q: Who built the overpass?
A: Custom Manufacturing, Clinton, Wisconsin.

Walkers benefit from the new trail section, too

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A note from Friends of the Pumpkinvine board member Vivian Schmucker, our most faithful walker and advocate, about her first walk on the new section of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between CR 33 and CR 20 reminded me that this new section will be a welcome addition to the trail for walkers as much as it is for bikers.

Even before it was officially open, I saw area residents walking down the trail enjoying its beauty and safety.  But Vivian walks with a greater purpose: she is training. She participates in the Maple City Walk’s marathon walk in the fall that uses the Pumpkinvine as it’s main venue, and in the past, walkers needed to use county roads for 3.4 miles (1.7 miles each way) of the 26.2-mile marathon course. Now the new section of the trail has eliminated two miles of that on-road route, making for a much safer walk.

Comment from Vivian:  “Since the distance between CR 33 and CR 35 by county roads is 1.7 miles, the marathoners previously had to walk 3.4 miles on the county roads for the round trip to Middlebury. Now that the new section of the trail is open, the marathoners will only have to walk .7 miles on county roads between CR 20 and CR 35 for a total of 1.4 miles for the round trip.”  

Those of us who are primarily cyclists have a tendency to forget that walkers make up over 40 percent of trail users and that a new section of trail that takes walkers off the county roads improves their safety significantly, too.

The Indiana legislature passed two laws, effective July 1, 2019, that impact cyclists in Indiana.

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The first is a three-foot passing law that says when a motorist is overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction, the motorist must “allow at least three (3) feet of clearance between their vehicle and the bicycle and not return the vehicle to the vehicle’s original lane of travel until the vehicle is safely clear of the bicycle.”A vehicle may pass a bicycle or electric bicycle in a no passing zone if it is safe to do so, complying with current law.”
The second law creates three classes of E bikes. The Pumpkinvine Advisory Committee made up of the four agencies that managing the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail will be discussing how this law applies to the Pumpkinvine at its July meeting.
Class 1 electric bicycle means an electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the operator is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance to the operator when the electric bicycle reaches a speed of twenty (20) miles per hour.
Class 2 electric bicycle means an electric bicycle equipped with an electric motor that may be used exclusively to propel the electric bicycle and ceases or is unable to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty (20) miler per hour
Class 3 electric bicycle means an electric bicycle equipment with an electric motor that provides assistance only when the operator is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance once the electric bicycle reaches a speed of twenty-eight (28) miles per hour.
The operator of an electric bicycle has all the rights and responsibilities as the rider of a non-electric bicycle.
Unless specifically stated by statute, ordinance, etc. Class 1 and 2 electric bicycles may be operated on any bicycle path or multi -purpose path where bicycles are permitted.
A class 3 electric bicycle mightnot be permitted on bicycle paths or multi use paths and the operator should look toward local ordinances for guidance. (Most trail managing agencies prohibit class 3 electric bicycles.)
A person less than 15 years of age may not operate a class 3 bicycle. A person less than 15 years may ride as a passenger if the bicycle accommodates more than one rider. Anyone who rides or operates a class 3 bicycle that is less than 18 years of age must wear an approved helmet.

A smooth ride — thanks to Bob Carrico

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In two day, June 15, 2019, a thousand riders will participate in the 20th Pumpkinvine Bike Ride. They will enjoy seeing the new colts in the fields, the beauty of the Indiana countryside and at some point in their ride, experience the shade and off-road safety of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. As they ride the Pumpkinvine, what they may overlook, is the work done to patch the cracks in the trail by Bob Carrico and his crew that results in a far smoother ride than would be the case if they hit a crack multiple time every mile.

Parts of the Pumpkinvine’s asphalt surface are now 20 years old, with the majority of the asphalt being 10 years old. In that time, freezing and thawing have created cracks in the surface of the asphalt that give bike riders a jolt. (The bumps caused by tree roots going under the trail are another issue.) Filling these cracks in a way that makes them smooth is labor intensive, and the local park departments that manage the trail do not have the staff to fill them.

Enter Bob Carrico, the Trail Operations Manager for the Friends of the Pumpkinvine. He has devised a system for filling the cracks that is so good most riders will never know they just passed over a filled crack. In the past month, Bob and his crew have filled every crack in the 16.5 miles of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail from Abshire Park in Goshen to County Road 850W in Shipshewana.

Every time I ride the Pumpkinvine I’m aware of this difference this crack sealing makes, i.e., how smooth they are. Unlike the patches I encounter on the road, which more often than not, substitute create a bump up where there was a bump down, Bob’s patches are smooth, the work of a cyclist who knows how much cyclists dislike bumps that are even a quarter inch high. This kind of patching takes time and patience, something Bob’s crew has in abundance.

So, anyone who rides the Pumpkinvine Bike Ride this weekend or locals who ride it year round, when you encounter a sealed crack, remember the effort and attention to detail that went into making your ride a lot smoother because of the dedication and skill of Bob Carrico.

Work progresses on new Pumpkinvine section but final construction may be delayed until the end of June

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Work on closing the gap in the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between County Road 33 and County Road 20 began at the end of July, 2018 and the bridge across  the south fork of Pine Creek was finished during the winter by Yoder Construction. Pulver Asphalt and Paving, Albion, Ind. has resumed construction on the remainder of the trail and expects to finish by the end of June.

“The bridge builders had other projects to work on and could not give the resources to building the bridge when they were needed,” said Bernie Cunningham, superintendent of Elkhart County Parks, the agency managing construction.

Frequent heavy rains slowed the construction after it resumed this spring.