Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage Maintenance Endowment Fund

This fund was created by the Evansville Parks Foundation in the year 2000 to provide perpetual support for maintenance of the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage. The Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage, upon its completion, will encircle Vanderburgh County and include links to neighborhoods and parks in neighboring counties. Ultimately, the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage will connect to a nation-wide system of greenways called the American Discovery Trail.

During the 1960s, a flood protection levee system was planned and the U.S. Corps of Engineers proposed creating a public recreational passage, resulting in the "Four Ladies in Tennis Shoes" campaign to clean up the pollution in Pigeon Creek. During the 1970s, an attempt was made to implement the Corps' plan for pedestrian/bicycle passage, but it ultimately failed due to political and financial difficulties. In 1990, park director, James Haddan and parks board member, Dave Ellison appealed to the city to undertake trail construction. When the city refused, they appealed to the Vanderburgh County Commission. In response, City Councilwoman Gail Riecken and County Commissioner Carol McClintock formed a committee that was dedicated to reviving the dream of developing a greenway passage and cleaning up Pigeon Creek. To date, Evansville has tried to build a pedestrian/bikeway six times — the first time in 1927, and most recently in the 1990s.

Two goals have been established. First, to build the Greenway Passage, and the other was to clean the Pigeon Creek for recreational possibilities. In 1993, the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage Advisory Board to the Evansville Department of Parks and Recreation was established for the express purpose of re-introducing the plan to establish a trail system throughout Vanderburgh County. Shortly after, Shirley James assumed the chair of the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage Advisory Board. In 1997, the Greenway Passage was included in the Master Plan for the city's parks.

In 1998 was a significant year for the project. The first section of the Greenway Passage was completed by Veazey, Parrott, Durkin and Shoulders, who offered to donate their services to build a portion of the trail along the I-164 thoroughfare. Outdoor sculptures created by University of Southern Indiana students were installed along the trailway. The plan included a wetland area to be constructed north of Diamond Avenue, and 4,500 trees indigenous to Indiana to be planted along Greenway Passage. An extensive cleanup of garbage and trash along Pigeon Creek was conducted, and the sunken barge at the mouth of the creek was removed.

Progress has continued steadily ever since. In recent year, land acquisition for the Passage continued through purchases and donations. Hi-Rail property, a 2.3-mile stretch of railway bed following US Hwy 41 from Bayse Street to the Lloyd Expressway was accepted. Storrow Kinsella Associates, Inc., the landscape architecture and planning firm assisting in the development of the Passage, created the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage Master Plan and the Parks 2001, five-year Master Plan. A display featuring Pigeon Creek was opened in the Old Gallery of the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science. One hundred eighty nine acres of land next to Pigeon Creek has been donated to the Parks Dept. The Riverfront Corridor was completed in 2004, and has been a significant benefit to Downtown tourism.