The St. John Chamber of Commerce makes a point to meet once a month to go over business, network amongst themselves, and learn about what new initiatives are available for giving back to the community. For their June 2016 gathering they invited guest speaker Mitch Barloga to talk about transportation.
Barloga is the Transportation Planning Manager for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. His presentation highlighted the best and the worst trails in our region. From the the railroad accented pathways connecting Griffith to Hobart, to the boggy patches along Calumet trail, it is important to the community to have functioning, safe modes of transportation for those who forgo cars.
“It’s important because it keeps the people in the community healthy,” said Barloga. “And gives alternate transportation options so that people are not addicted to their cars. It’s good for overall health.”
On a local note, he talked about Pennsy Greenway. It is a proposed trail that will connect St. John to Lansing, Illinois. It will utilize power line locations, making them usable. It will also go through a NIPSCO corridor that allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross a major highway below ground and below traffic.
“He was in front of the right audience,” said Chamber of Commerce President Gina Fezler, “To initiate change. These are the people that get things done. They ask how we can get more involved.”
Rob Sues owns Reichelt Plumbing in St. John, and lives here as well. “I think the opportunity to give back to my community is good,” he said, “Because it helps my customers do things. Knowing there is an attraction developing here means we are growing. We have to compete with Chicago and now we can.”
Barloga says that to put Saint John on the map, community leaders need to meet with City officials to make changes. He suggested putting in High-Intensity Activity crossWalKs (HAWKs) on streets that do not have enough intersections for pedestrians to cross safely. A few of his other concepts included a trail along the railroad tracks, safer transportation programs in schools, and for the town to pursue a national status.
His ideas gave members of the chamber a lot to think about. It was a good opportunity for special guests from Lake Central High School to see the diversity of a chamber meeting.
“I learned a lot about transportation and local business,” said high school grad Jacob Koontz. “It helps the community when all the businesses work together to make the town a better place to live.”
Fezler, who is also Assistant Vice President at First Financial Bank, thought the monthly meeting was a fitting venue to award scholarships to the students. The graduates from Lake Central High School were chosen from the many that applied because of their volunteer records and activity in the community.
Next month’s meeting will be at Zig E’s funland, and they have a corn roast planned for August 12th. They make getting out into the community a priority.
Taylor Duffy, a young woman who will be attending Purdue University for Industrial Engineering, said, “It’s always great to see people take time out of their business to keep you informed on how to make a difference. So many things are changing. The more we learn, the more we can adapt. We have so many opportunities to do something about the problems we face.”
Fezler hoped they would take one thing away from the meeting: “Just remember where you came from. Remember to come back and make a difference in the community you grew up in.”