Northwest Allen County Schools is looking into allowing the Allen County Commissioners to extend a trail onto the property at Maple Creek Middle School, connecting the area to the rest of the trail system.
The proposed trail would cross Corbin Road onto the property and continue along Union Chapel Road. The board voted unanimously against the proposal in 2022, citing safety concerns over the intersection at the property.
The intersection where cars exit the middle school property back onto the road doesn’t have a traffic light, only a stop sign. The commissioners presented a traffic study to NACS board members on Friday which showed that, throughout the day, there’s only about 45 minutes where the intersection is busy enough to need a light.
Still, board members expressed concerns and offered alternatives that would bring the trail north, through the woods and south of a marshland on the property.
No action was taken during the meeting, but board members have requested other traffic data from the county, including other schools where trails without traffic lights are implemented and rates of collisions with cyclists and pedestrians.
Members of the board expressed gratitude to the commissioners for continuing the conversation and interest in having a trail, even if it’s not in that location.
