Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter February 2008

Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter
February 2008

It’s Friday 15 February 2008. Here is the news about trails in the Miami Valley. Please read on.

Trail Construction and Improvements.	Website Changes and Improvements
Photos & Information Wanted Section	Did You Know Department
Announcements of Upcoming Cycling Events	Webpage of the Month

Trail Construction and Improvements

New Signage on Local Trails – The Miami Conservancy District on behalf of Greene, Montgomery and Miami Counties received $90K of a total of $180K for uniform trail signs in the three counties. You will see some of them this year. I was told that Greene County would be putting up their first signs around Xenia Station to aid trail users find the five trails that converge at the Station. Look for them this Summer (2008).
Austin Pike Relocation Project Meeting 6 March 2008 - See Below at ( Announcements of Upcoming Events)
I-675 Bridge Closer To Funding – The proposed bridge over I-675 in Beavercreek that would connect the Fairfield Mall area across I-675 to Wright State University and the Wright Brothers Bikeway got a little closer to being funded. It has been recommended by the Miami Valley Regional Planning Agency (MVRPC) to be the third item on their list of priorities for funding that was chosen for funding support in the Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) category. This high ranking all but assures its eventual (formal) selection. Final approval by the MVRPC Board of Directors is expected at their March 6th meeting. The CMAQ grant will cover 80% ($2,408,000) of the total program cost ($3,010,000) the exact amount requested. This amount represents Year 2012 dollars.

Website Changes and Improvements

Updates to Trail Usage Statistics Page – Each year I ask the County parks departments to provide to me their trail use statistics. Some of them have counters on their trails and they send me their yearly totals. I am encouraging all of those who do not have counters to buy and install them on all their trails, I think that having statistical data on the use of our trails by the public is a great justification for having the existing trails and helps defend requests for funds to build more trails. I will be adding more data to this page as it arrives.

Photos & Information Wanted Department

None this month.

Did you Know Department?

Trail Etiquette & Safety (Revisited) – According to the 31 January 2008 “Dear Abby” article in the Dayton Daily News, Trail Etiquette is a topic that even “Abby” talks about. Several readers suggested that ringing your bicycle bell doesn’t always work if the walker ahead of you is hard of hearing. Others talk about how conflict starts when a group ahead (they used walkers) talk up most of the space on the trail making it impossible to pass. For example, last Summer I got an email from a cyclist who was using the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Morrow County. He came upon three equestrians that were riding their horses abreast, using up the entire trail. When he asked them to move out of the way, an argument ensued over “Who trail it was.” What I would suggest is that it is “everybody’s trail” but everybody (that means you) need to share with the other users.
Navigation Menus At Bottom of Pages Replicate Drop Downs on Home Page – That’s a long way to say that each page on the website has a menu at the very bottom of the page. It’s called a “Footer Page” and I add it to every webpage.[ Go Ahead! Scroll down this page to the bottom to see the Navigation Menu]. Using it, you can get to most pages on the website. As a matter of fact, it is the same menu, only laid out differently, as the drop-down menus on the Home Page. For example, if you look at the “Other Links” drop-down menu, and then look at the bottom of the Home Page you’ll see the same list of picks for “Other Links”. Hint: If you click on “Other Links” itself, it will take you to a webpage where every pick on that drop-down menu is explained in detail. That also works for the Resources drop-down menu. If you click on either the Trails By County or Trails By Name drop-down menus you'll get the Miami Valley RailTrails page where I describe every trail in the area.

Announcements of Upcoming Events

Austin Road Interchange Meeting 6 March 2008 -. I sent out information about this important meeting last week. The attachment is on the Events Page for your reading pleasure. It is about the Austin Pike Relocation project in southern Montgomery County. The bikeway portion of this project is a key connector in the long range vision to join the Great Miami River Recreation Trail and the Little Miami Scenic Trail across the south suburban part of the region. The name for this entire project is the "Miami 2 Miami Trail." I have a webpage about it (Click Here).
[Note: 9 March 2008 - I made a mistake with this information. The trail IS NOT the Miami 2 Miami Trail. See my March 2008 Newsletter for the correct information!]

The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 6, 2008 from 4:30 to 7:30 PM at the Dayton Wright Brothers Airport on Springboro Pike. Meeting details are on the Events Page. The meeting is an open house format and comments can be provided at the meeting or by mail. This section of the Austin Road interchange project was to include a separate shared use path. We need to get representatives from the cycling community; that is, YOU, to the meeting to make sure the trail is maintained in the project. I would appreciate it if you would consider attending this important meeting. I plan to be at the meeting as well. I hope to see you there. You can see more information via a flyer that I was sent (Click Here).

Webpage of the Month

MVRT Screensaver Page – Since it is Winter and not cycling weather, I thought you might want to look at some nice pictures of the trails in good weather. A couple of years ago, I built a Miami Valley RailTrails Screen-Saver and put it up on a webpage for you to use. If you would like to download it and install in on your PC (It won’t work on Mac’s), just go to the page, read the step-by-step instructions, download and install it. I have it on my computer. It cheers me up on cold, snowy, winter days.

Regards to all,

Thomas J. Recktenwalt
Webmaster
Miami Valley RailTrails
http://www.miamivalleytrails.org

If you find these newsletters and my Miami Valley RailTrails website of use to you, please pass the information on to your friends and neighbors who might enjoy our Miami Valley Trails System, the wonderful system of multi-use trails in Southwest Ohio. Then they can write me and get on the mailing list to get their own copy of this newsletter. Our trail system is wonderful for walking, running, in-line skating, birding, fishing and cycling and on some trails horseback riding. You see more wildlife from one of our trails than most anyplace else. All of my newsletters are posted to my website at the same time I send you this text version. The URL for your use is: http://www.miamivalleytrails.org/join_our_mailing_list.htm

Return to Join Our Mailing List

For more information on each Web Page or Trail click on its name.