Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2013

egion,” Jerdonek said. “We’ll have more
heads in beds, more meals in restaurants,
more use of local shops and vendors, and
this will become one of the most prominent
recreational areas in the region. I
can’t imagine a two-state community
that would have the kind of asset that we
are on the verge of having with a little bit
of vision from our community and a little
out of the box thinking. We can complete
this and it will be a fantastic home run.”
An avid distance runner and cyclist, he
personally cannot wait to use the completed
Greenway, too.
New Albany Mayor and Commission
Member Jef Gahan said the city is serious
about developing the trail and is getting
ready to invest $600,000 on a new
section of the Greenway. He said he loves
the city’s river front park and amphitheater
and hopes to draw more people to it
from the trail.
The whole picture
Shaunna Graf became project coordinator
for the Ohio River Greenway
Commission in 2007 when she decided to
leave her corporate career in the wireless
industry. Having worked in San Francisco,
New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles
Views of the Ohio River and Louisvlle and
Southern Indiana are all beautifully displayed
from the Big Four railroad-turnedpedestrian
bridge.
she returned to southern Indiana to raise
her son.
“When my son was fve years old and
learning how to ride a bike for the frst
time, the crumbling and uneven sidewalks
in my Jefersonville neighborhood
and the school parking lot were the only
places we could fnd for him to practice,”
she said. “I had experienced the amazing
parks of those metropolitan areas and
didn’t quite understand why we couldn’t
have the same sorts of facilities here in
southern Indiana.”
Seeing a newspaper listing for her current
job one Sunday morning, she saw
the perfect opportunity to improve her
community and use her management experience.
“My passion was ignited by the concept
of the completed Greenway ofering
connectivity to the Ohio River for pedestrians
and bicyclists,” she said. “As I have
had the opportunity to continue to work
on this community asset my passion is
strengthened by the visitors, citizens and
business owners all vying for this project
to be completed.”
She said she has never met anyone
“against” the project — there are simply
diferent opinions on design or construction.
“The unity this project brings in terms
of vision and passion is inspiring,” Graf
said, adding that she rides her bike for
pleasure and commuting and includes
bicycling in her vacation plans.
“I truly believe that getting outside
and being physically active — specifcally
on a bike — we all become free thinkers,”
she said. “I can solve a lot of what I
assess as “big problems” by giving them
perspective and real context once I feel
the child-like freedom I embody when
riding a bike.”
She wants to see a completed Ohio
River Greenway inspire other projects,
and added incentive for completing a
981-mile Ohio River Greenway from
Pittsburgh, Pa. to Cairo, Ill. Graf said
there are other Ohio River Greenways
and there is talk of creating a larger Ohio
River Trail a long time down the road.
“I also hope other community leaders
see the redevelopment and connection to
the Ohio River here in southern Indiana
September/October 2013 • 46