A ropes course, a floating stage and wetland park restoration could be part of the future of the White River, according to renderings released by a multi-agency committee planning riverfront improvements.

The latest plans were released after months of public outreach led by the city of Indianapolis, Visit Indy and Hamilton County Tourism under the effort known as the White River Vision Plan.

The images show several ways that the team representing organizations in Hamilton and Marion counties believe that they can "activate" the river.

These are "high-level concepts," said Emily Mack, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development at the city.

"When you look at those renderings, it’s an example of what could be possible at a particular node or intersection or particular park," she said.

Based on information gathered during the first phases of the plan's development, planners have chosen seven areas to focus on. In each area, planners have identified existing and potential assets and uses along the river.

For example, planners identified the area near Allisonville Road in Noblesville as a potential area to establish an extreme recreation park with a ropes course, kayaking, swimming and quarry climbing.

Other areas were highlighted for their potential for trails, economic development, entertainment, environmental restoration and more.

Some changes will happen sooner than others, said Brenda Myer, CEO and president of Hamilton County Tourism. Strawtown Park, for example, already has a comprehensive plan under way, so the task at hand is to see if it's possible to put "just a few more sprinkles on the cake," Myer said.

Plans for Allisonville Road, on the other hand, have a much longer timescale, given the variety of industrial land uses and property owners in the area.

"We would have to actually parcel-by-parcel look at what those things should be. It is probably the highest return on investment," Myer said. "But it’s by far the hardest thing."

Swimming in the river is another long-term goal, said Andrea Watts, chief communications officer for the Department of Metropolitan Development.

The completion of Citizen's Energy's DigIndy project in 2025 will prevent 97 percent of sewer overflows, solving a major water quality issue for the river, Watts said via email. But runoff from urban and agricultural sources will continue to complicate any plans to allow people to swim.

"The prospect of swimming is an ambitious goal that we hope to tackle long term," Watts said. "We hope that water testing and positive results will help clear the stigma and the public will feel comfortable swimming in the river."

The plan is now entering its final "action" phase, Mack said. How the plan will be managed, how it will be implemented and who will pay for what are all questions that will need answering for a plan that targets 58 miles of river flowing through five municipal jurisdictions.

Residents can provide their feedback to the concepts online at mywhiteriver.com or in person at public meetings noon and 6 p.m. on February 13. Locations for the meeting are to be decided. Information about the plan, including the latest renderings and a video from an earlier presentation, is available on the My White River Facebook page, and will soon be uploaded to mywhiteriver.com.

A final plan will be released in late April or early May, according to Mack.

Emily Hopkins covers the environment for IndyStar. Contact them at 317-444-6409 or emily.hopkins@indystar.com. Follow them on Twitter: @_thetextfiles.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.