Valparaiso opens 7,600-foot Vale Park West Link Pathway for northwest neighborhoods

VALPARAISO, Ind. People who walk or bike in northwest Valparaiso have a new off-road route toward Valparaiso High School, Rogers Lakewood Park and downtown after the city opened the 7,600-foot Vale Park West Link Pathway on Friday, Nov. 6, the city said in a news release.

The pathway runs alongside portions of Vale Park Road and Froberg Road and connects northwest neighborhoods including Pepper Creek, Iron Gate, Windsor Park, Pepper Cove, Keystone Commons and Foggy Glen to the city's existing pathway network, according to the release. The city described it as "a dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists, offering a safer alternative to traveling alongside vehicle traffic."

The project was built in phases over the past four construction seasons and adds a link to a citywide network of more than 27 miles of pathways, the release says. Mayor Jon Costas joined Engineering Director Max Rehlander, Parks Director Tristan Leonhard, project partners and neighborhood representatives for the ribbon cutting.

"It's an investment in our quality of life today and in the future of Valparaiso," Costas said in the release.

Who paid for it

The city's release lists a $364,500 grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Next Level Trails program, along with local money from the Local Income Tax and the Redevelopment Commission.

Board of Public Works and Safety minutes from June 26 show the grant application reached that board after grant money had begun to arrive. Rehlander told the board the city had applied for the grant in 2019 but the application had not been formally approved by the board at the time, and that "the award has since been received and funds have begun to be disbursed," the minutes say. The board approved it retroactively on a 2-0 vote.

How it was built

The board's agenda for its Nov. 13 meeting lists an item titled "2026 Sidewalk Program, Vale Park West Link." That program's pathway contract, Package 2, which City Council minutes from March 9 describe as pathways on 500 North and Froberg Road, went to New Tech for $596,284.95 on Feb. 27, below the engineering estimate of $617,000, according to the Board of Works minutes from that day. In April the board approved daytime road closures for Package 2 in three phases, the first on Froberg Road from Vale Park Road to Ransom Road and the last from County Road 175 West to Tower Road, with work starting April 20, the April 10 minutes say.

The release credits Rieth-Riley, Milestone and New Tech and their subcontractors with construction, and Abonmarche and DLZ with design, along with city staff.

"Projects like this require long-term planning, coordination and collaboration," Rehlander said in the release.

Leonhard said in the release that the parks department often thinks of pathways "as linear parks" that "connect people to one another and to the places that make Valparaiso special."

What's next

The Board of Works agenda for its meeting at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at City Hall, 166 Lincolnway, lists that item under Rehlander's name among the Engineering Department's requests for approval. The meeting is open to the public and livestreamed, and people who cannot attend can email comments or questions before the meeting to mpalmer@valpo.us, the agenda says.