Benham path in Elkhart is open to public

ELKHART, Ind. -- Just in time for kids to start heading back to school, a new multi-use Benham path has now opened in Elkhart.

City leaders held a celebratory red ribbon cutting for the opening of the path, now freely opened it to runners, bikers, or anyone looking to get around without a vehicle.

The newly opened Benham path runs from Hively Avenue all the way to Old Farm Drive, this path also travels beside the Concord West Side Elementary school.

City officials say the path is designed to create connections between neighborhoods and local businesses providing a safer path for pedestrians who had to cross busy roads.

"You should be able to get to those freely and easily without a vehicle. And we want to make sure that we making our city walkable and making our city clean from the standpoint of air quality, and a lot of it comes from creating pathways like this. So, we're looking at these types of pathways all throughout our city." said city engineer.

City engineers inform that this is the first of many and will connect an estimated 16-hundred residents to schools, neighborhoods, businesses, stores, and other resources.