Greenwood Parks & Recreation Master Plan 2021-2025 •
James T. and Laura Polk Community House, 1920
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Oldest Tree in Greenwood
Johnson County’s Man-Made, Historical and Cultural Features (Taken from Johnson County Parks & Recreation 5-Year Parks Master Plan 2020-2025, prepared by Mader Design)
Man-made features also play a big part in outdoor recreation supply. Johnson County has a fairly efficient and accessible roadway system. As mapped out in the Johnson County Trails Master Plan completed in 2019, there are many opportunities for a multi-use trail system to mirror the roadways and connect communities and sites throughout the county. Due to the conversion of SR 37 into I-69 in White River Township in the northwest corner of the county, current traffic patterns within the area will change. This includes a significant reduction in access points along the interstate. This reduction of access will greatly affect the way people move about the northwest portion of the county. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Johnson County is forecasted to increase in population to 167,899 by 2035. Additionally, White River Township’s population is expected to increase by over 22,000 individuals between now and 2035. The majority of the growth White River Township has experienced is a result of significant residential growth in the northern half of the township. Future growth will be driven by both continued growth of unincorporated areas, as well as future development activity in the town of Bargersville and the southwest portion of the city of Greenwood. This growth has been a benefit to the county in many ways however, infrastructure and transportation corridor improvements have not kept up with the pace of development, which has created traffic and connectivity challenges throughout the township. The increase of additional traffic and development has created the need for load capacity improvements to serve existing traffic and future projected traffic increases. The I-69 Corridor Plan, completed in December of 2018, studied how this interstate expansion project will affect the area. The expansion project is slated to start in 2020. Guidelines on how to mitigate any issues the expansion may cause are laid out in detail. This includes the widening of many suburban major and minor arterial and connector roads, and rural roads. Pedestrian sidewalks or multi-use trails are included in all typical road improvement guidelines. Adopting a Complete Streets policy is recommended to improve connectivity for the county as a whole. This policy guides the desired locations and helps the community achieve its overall goal of providing corridors for all types of transportation, including biking, walking, running, driving and commuting that is suitable for all ages and abilities. This policy also identifies the importance of
Community Profile
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