|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Grant lets bike trail plan roll on
A planned 4.4-mile bike trail designed to help revitalize the Mill
Creek corridor from South Cumminsville to St. Bernard has received a $405,000 state grant that will enable a one-mile segment to be built along Salway Park in Spring Grove Village next year. This bike trail, which is named the Queen City-South Mill Creek Greenway Trail, is an essential component of a regional master plan to clean up and beautify the Mill Creek and to pump new life into the communities that border it. The master plan envisions this bike trail eventually being extended south to downtown Cincinnati and north to Butler County, linking with major bike trails at each end and benefiting a host of northern Hamilton County suburban communities. The grant from the Clean Ohio Trial Fund will help pay for the construction of the portion of the bike trail that will run from the south end of Salway Park at Crawford Avenue to the intersection of Spring Grove and Winton avenues. As part of this phase - which the planners are calling Phase 3A - includes the construction of a bike path segment from Dooley Bypass and Ludlow Avenue to the Mill Creek Road bridge in South Cumminsville. "It's a matter of putting the pieces into place," said Robin Corathers, executive director of the Mill Creek Restoration Project, a nonprofit group that is coordinating this project. "We're slow and deliberate, but we're getting there. We feel like we have momentum now." Sean Logan, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, will discuss the grant at a press conference at 2 p.m. Monday, at Salway Park, located on Spring Grove Avenue across from Spring Grove Cemetery. A 0.6-mile piece of this bike trail, already has been built. It runs from the Dooley Bypass and Ludlow Avenue in Northside to the south end of Salway Park. The trail's second phase involves the construction of a segment from the Dewey Bypass and Ludlow Avenue in Northside to the Spring Grove Avenue bridge under the Interstate-74 overpass. That will be built this fall. The one-mile piece along Salway Park will be built next year. The originally planned bike trail was going to be 3.4 miles, beginning in South Cumminsville and ending at Mitchell Avenue in Spring Grove Village. But plans were changed to add a one-mile segment from Mitchell Avenue up to the St. Bernard business district in the Vine Street corridor. That segment and the piece from Winton and Spring Grove to Mitchell comprise a part of the project called Phase 3B. The construction of this last phase depends not only upon funding but also on when the state will rebuild I-75's Mitchell Avenue interchange. The rebuilt interchange is part of the $2 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement project that calls for improvement in the approaches to the bridge on I-75 from the Kyles Lane interchange in Northern Kentucky to just north of the Western Hills Viaduct interchange. The total cost of the 4.4-mile bike path is between $4.7 million to $5.6 million. Most of the funding comes from the Clean Ohio Trail Fund. Other funding sources include the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and Mill Creek Restoration Project private donors. Tim Jeckering, president of the Northside Community Council, said a lot of pedestrians and bicyclists use the 0.6-mile piece of the bike trail that was built last year. "When another section is built, even more people will use it," he said. Cincinnati neighborhoods along the Mill Creek, which have been struggling against blight, believe the bike trail will help attract young residents and new businesses. Jeckering said the bike path already has contributed to the revival of Northside, where he has lived for nearly 30 years. "It's a catalyst that is bringing young people into the neighborhood to buy homes," Jeckering said. "It's a key asset for an urban neighborhood to have a bike trail along a natural waterway. Hopefully, they'll keep getting money to add to the bike trail." http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...EWS01/8200324/ |
Ads |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
TR: NJMBA Kings Grant Blue Trail | Ride-A-Lot | Mountain Biking | 3 | February 26th 06 11:20 PM |
Anderson receives grant to build Ohio River trail | Garrison Hilliard | General | 1 | August 12th 05 11:54 PM |
Anderson receives grant to build Ohio River trail | Garrison Hilliard | Rides | 1 | August 12th 05 11:54 PM |
Do any of losers plan to tear up the trail above Echo Mt. this weekend! | Rockstar | Mountain Biking | 26 | December 7th 04 03:11 AM |