Little Miami Trail nears final hurdle

Trail nears final hurdle

Post staff report


Approval of a federal grant recommended by the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources might be the final hurdle in the completion of the Little Miami Scenic
Trail.

Approval of the $375,000 grant will mean there is enough money set aside to
complete the $1.4 million project, which will connect the trail in Milford to
downtown Cincinnati.

The village of Terrace Park, through which this section of the trail will pass,
has resisted attempts to build the trail in the past, but village officials are
now more receptive.

Councilman Jack Brown said the village hopes to reach an agreement on a
memorandum of understanding that will satisfy residents.

"We just want to know what steps are being taken to make sure the neighborhood
is not disturbed," Brown said.

The recommendation is not a guarantee that the grant will be awarded, but Jane
Beathard of the Department of Natural Resources said recommendations are usually
accepted.

"Generally, this money is approved," Beathard said.

The grant is among almost $2 million requested by the state from the federal
Recreation Trails Program.

When the 2½-mile section of the trail is complete from Milford to Avoca Park
west of Terrace Park, cyclists will be able to travel from downtown through
Xenia to Springfield on a 12-foot-wide paved surface.

Construction could begin as early as February after bids are submitted and a
contractor is chosen, said Gus Smithhisler, an engineer with ODNR. The goal is
to have the project completed by the end of 2006, he said.



Publication date: 11-07-2005

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....WS01/511070351

Garrison Hilliard wrote:

When the 2½-mile section of the trail is complete from Milford to Avoca Park
west of Terrace Park, cyclists will be able to travel from downtown through
Xenia to Springfield on a 12-foot-wide paved surface.

Does this imply that 2 1/2 miles from milford the trail starts up again
and goes all the way to downtown cincinatti?

We rode down the trail this summer, but at Milford we went on roads down
to Cincinatti, ending up at the ferry. If the trail does indeed start
up again just a short way past Milford, that would have been a much
better route then the roads we took.

Rich

Rich wrote:
Garrison Hilliard wrote:

When the 2½-mile section of the trail is complete from Milford to Avoca Park
west of Terrace Park, cyclists will be able to travel from downtown through
Xenia to Springfield on a 12-foot-wide paved surface.

Does this imply that 2 1/2 miles from milford the trail starts up again
and goes all the way to downtown cincinatti?

We rode down the trail this summer, but at Milford we went on roads down
to Cincinatti, ending up at the ferry. If the trail does indeed start
up again just a short way past Milford, that would have been a much
better route then the roads we took.

Rich

I believe the section of trail is to run from Milford to Avoca Park.
Here's a site with additional information on the construction in that
area.

http://www.miamivalleytrails.org/Mil...%20Airport.htm

Frank Saboley wrote:

They could have used that money to feed the hungry, but instead it will be
used to build a useless trail for bikers to be mugged on.

No, they used it to build a great trail for recreation and exercise,
making lives better and longer.

The money that we should have used to feed the hungry we spend on
military stuff. Billions and billions of dollars worth. That's were
the waste is.

Trails good. Bombs bad. It's elementary....

Rich

Approval of the $375,000 grant will mean there is enough money set aside to
complete the $1.4 million project, which will connect the trail in Milford
to
downtown Cincinnati.

They could have used that money to feed the hungry, but instead it will be
used to build a useless trail for bikers to be mugged on.

Rich wrote:

Frank Saboley wrote:

They could have used that money to feed the hungry, but instead it will be
used to build a useless trail for bikers to be mugged on.

No, they used it to build a great trail for recreation and exercise,
making lives better and longer.

The money that we should have used to feed the hungry we spend on
military stuff. Billions and billions of dollars worth. That's were
the waste is.

Trails good. Bombs bad. It's elementary....

Rich

Also, good (lame-n-tame bike and otherwise) trails lead to good tourism,
which in turn promotes economic growth - or something like that!

Whenever possible albeit infrequently, I purposely travel to other
states and cities solely to ride their bike trails! I've never ridden
the LMT (Little Miami Trail), but I hope to soon someday. I hope the
LMT is something like the Katy Trail - which is a fantastic ride and a
good model for any community and groups of communities to imitate, where
an obsolete railroad corrider exists and is unused otherwise (think
rails-to-trails).

Since I picked up bike riding (again) a few years ago, I've managed to
slowly lose a significant amount of weight, without resorting to a
drastic change in diet. I only wish my local community had such an
excellent trail similar to the Katy (MO), LMT (OH), I&M Canal (IL),
Tammany Trace (LA) bike paths!

Skyhooks
h m a r d i s ""aahhtt"" u i u c ""ddoott"" e d u

P.S. I hope the Tammany Trace Trail wasn't ravaged too badly by
Hurricane Katrina -- which is located on the north shore of Lake
Ponchatrain, about ~25 miles north of New Orleans. I haven't had the
heart to check it out, yet.

Skyhooks wrote:
I have made trips to many states and one other province specifically
because I wanted to ride their bike trails. Spent money in motels,
campgrounds, restaurants, etc. Cycled part of the Little Miami about 5
years ago and will probably go back again.

Bike trails are good investments as our aging population is
increasingly looking for to be more fit than our shuffleboard-playing
parents.

Ken

Whenever possible albeit infrequently, I purposely travel to other
states and cities solely to ride their bike trails! I've never ridden
the LMT (Little Miami Trail), but I hope to soon someday. I hope the
LMT is something like the Katy Trail - which is a fantastic ride and a
good model for any community and groups of communities to imitate, where
an obsolete railroad corrider exists and is unused otherwise (think
rails-to-trails).

Since I picked up bike riding (again) a few years ago, I've managed to
slowly lose a significant amount of weight, without resorting to a
drastic change in diet. I only wish my local community had such an
excellent trail similar to the Katy (MO), LMT (OH), I&M Canal (IL),
Tammany Trace (LA) bike paths!

Skyhooks
h m a r d i s ""aahhtt"" u i u c ""ddoott"" e d u

P.S. I hope the Tammany Trace Trail wasn't ravaged too badly by
Hurricane Katrina -- which is located on the north shore of Lake
Ponchatrain, about ~25 miles north of New Orleans. I haven't had the
heart to check it out, yet.

Ken Brown, Toronto Canada
Ontario Rail Trails: http://webhome.idirect.com/~brown
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