Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter September 2005

Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter
September 2005

It’s September 15th 2005 and it looks like rain. have news for you about Southwest Ohio's trails and additions to this website.

Trail Construction and Improvements.

Website Changes and Improvements

Did You Know Department

Announcements of Upcoming Cycling Events

Trail Construction and Improvements

The Simon Kenton Trail Phase IV will be dedicated at the Heritage Center in downtown Springfield, Ohio on 24 September 2005 at 9:30 AM. This 2 mile trail section completes the Simon Kenton Trail from downtown Springfield to Urbana in Champaign County a total of 16.6 miles.
Prairie Grass Trail in London Receives Funding - The Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) got an early Xmas present from Governor Taft 23 August 23, 2005. He visited London and released the list of $13M in ODOT funds to develop more trails in Ohio. FMCPT got $436,566 to pave the 6.5 miles of trail East from Maple Street to Wilson Road that was dedicated this July. The trail as dedicated was finished with crushed limestone because funding ran out. These additional funds will finish the trail to within two miles of Franklin County (Columbus). This trail is a part of the Ohio To Erie Trail. It is expected that the trail will be paved with asphalt in 2006.
Little Miami Scenic Trail Gets Repaired. About 50 miles of the trail is in the Little Miami Scenic Park. I was told that they (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) received $240K to repair the trail from Loveland to Milford. They have been closing sections of the trail all Summer to repair the damage made by tree roots in the trail. The contractor was working 4 ten hour days Monday to Thursday so as to have the trail open on Friday to Sunday. They hope to complete repairs soon.

Website Changes and Improvements

The Great Connection changes name. I was informed recently by the Miami Conservancy District that “The Great Connection” as a title for the 28 miles of trail being developed South of Crains Run Nature Park has been changed to “The Great Miami River Trail in Warren and Butler Counties”. I have changed the title on all of the most important places on the website. However, you may see the old term in old newsletters, etc.
Lebanon Countryside Trail Nears Completion – We rode this new trail on 22 August 2005, hoping that we could get pictures of an almost finished and usable trail. We found after riding a short distance that they were still paving West of the Government Center near Harmon Park. I updated the web page with some new pictures and will ride this trail again for your benefit. What remains to be done for the trail completion include fencing, signage, and seeding. I am informed that the ribbon cutting/grand opening ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, October 1st from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at the Countryside YMCA (north parking lot).

Did You Know Department

Governor Taft announces $13.3M in new ODOT Trail Funds The Miami Valley was a beneficiary of federal enhancement funding for community projects as follows:
- Friends Of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) - FMCPT received a total of $436,566 to pave the 6.5 miles of trail that was dedicated 2 July 2005. The trail had been paved in rolled crushed limestone since the group did not have the funding at that time to pave this trail segment from Maple Road to Wilson Road. It is expected that the trail will be paved in 2006 (See above).
- Clinton Rails To Trails Coalition Receives Funding - This Clinton County organization received $67,448 to construct .5 mile of the Judy Gano Trail. The Judy Gano Community Trail will connect the trailhead of the 4-C Bicentennial Trail dedicated in July with a trail segment that is adjacent to Lowes' Drive on the northeast side of Wilmington.
- New Tri-County Trail Map Available- The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) with the help of the counties of Miami, Montgomery and Greene and their parks departments has developed a new trail map for your use. The new map is 24” x 36” and show all trails (both built and funded) in the three county area as well as extensions into other counties. You can get a map from your local Parks and Recreation organization as well as from MVRPC. As soon as there are web-pages developed with this information on them, I’ll link to them on my Maps Page.

Announcements of Upcoming Cycling Events
(Also See Events Page )

The Simon Kenton Trail Phase IV will be dedicated at the Heritage Center in downtown Springfield, Ohio on 24 September 2005 at 9:30 AM. This 2 mile trail section completes the Simon Kenton Trail from downtown Springfield to Urbana in Champaign County a total of 16.6 miles.

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 wonderful system of multi-use trails in Southwest Ohio. They are wonderful for walking, running, roller-bladeing, 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

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