Fort Wayne is a city in northeast Indiana. It is Indiana’s 2nd largest city with a current population of 269,621 (within city limits). It is about 346,000 if you take in the Metro area. It is relatively small as cities go but it is growing and has much to offer.
Paved bicycle trails are among the offerings. I think we have at least 130 miles of trails built so far. The eventual goal is 300 miles of trails. That is quite a lot for this size of city.
Building trails is quite expensive so it is usually a fairly slow process due to lack of funds. I am sure the cost has gone up over the last couple of years. It used to be about $750 per linear foot for a 10 foot wide paved trail. I have written about trail construction and trail planning before.
All of our trails are multi-use type. Bicycles, walkers, runners, skate boarders and roller skaters are allowed on them. Horses are not allowed with the exception of one trail twice a year for a few hours.
Motorized vehicles are not permitted but sometimes they can be seen zooming up and down the trails. There are always those who could care less about the rules. I have stopped some of them and told them that their vehicle is not allowed on the trails. Most of them give me a ridiculous story that the police or some other city official has given them permission to do so. I know better than that so I insist they get off of the trail and stay off of them. Only a few seemed genuinely sincere saying the did not know and would get off at the first exit they come to. Most remain defiant. I rarely try to confront any of them anymore. This day and age it could be a very dangerous thing to do. It is just not worth it. I could call the police but by the time they show up the law breaker is long gone. I used to be a Greenway Ranger which means absolutely nothing as we have absolutly no authority out on the trails. All we can do is call the authorities. I had some fun with photo editing. I modified my Greeway Ranger Identification Card by adding the “badge”, picture with name and the FW Trails logo.
It is extremely rare to see any police out on any of our trails. The police used to have regular bicycles but now they have e-bikes. They have never had emergency lights or sirens however and I don’t think that has changed.
I am nearly 76 and a half years old now. It will be interesting to see how many of the remaining 170 miles will be built that I can ride on while I still can. Each passing year I notice a little change in my physical abilities.
Well, it is time to stop typing and go for a ride while I still can. Catch ya on the rebound as they say.
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!
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“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!
Tadpole Rider 
I can’t speak for other localities as to whether or not e-bikes are included in the No Motorized Vehicles but here where I live they allow e-bikes on the trails. Of course, they expect riders to ride responsibly. We don’t have any posted speed limits which is something I don’t understand. I am all for one.
Does “no motorized vehicles” include e-bikes? My local rail trail has the same restrictions but I have never been stopped from riding my e-bike. I am 74 years old with limited use of my right leg. An e-bike is the only bike I can ride at this point in my life.