(Image provided, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission)
In Lake County, Region planners say they are working with the City of Gary to convert abandoned elevated railroad in Midtown into a multi-use trail that would eventually be part of the 60-mile Marquette Greenway from Chicago, Illinois, to New Buffalo, Michigan. Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) says the initiative called “Gary ELevated” represents a multi-year process with the trail serving as the catalyst for new growth, re-routing the Marquette Greenway to utilize the abandoned line that runs through the central part of the city. A news release from NIRPC said similar efforts have seen “great results in Detroit and Milwaukee, which NIRPC aims to emulate.” Part of the process is the gathering of a broad coalition of stakeholders which plans to meet quarterly, with the first Gary ELevated Coalition meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 15, 2026, at 6PM at the Gary YWCA on West 15th Avenue. The kick-off meeting will have a presentation about the Gary ELevated vision and ongoing efforts in Milwaukee to revitalize a similar corridor with an off-road trail. This group represents residents, community organizations, government entities, utilities, university representatives, staff of project teams, and more and will be responsible for learning about and contributing to the process, messaging information back to their constituents, providing ideas, and setting up meeting spaces, the announcement said.
