Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter June 2009

Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter
June 2009

It’s Saturday 13 June 2009 and I have news for you. 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

Trail Dedicated in Piqua – (Miami County) - The 3 mile trail section from Lock 9 Park in Piqua South to Peterson Road was dedicated 6 June 2009. I was unable to attend the dedication and so I have no new photos of the trail. When I get them and I’ll tell you about it; I’ll update the Rivers Edge Trail page. That is the trail in Piqua that runs alongside the Great Miami River from Lock 9 Park North 3.6 miles to the Water Plant. Since it is alongside the River it is a part of the Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Miami County) and will be posted there. See also a Piqua Daily Call article 6 June 2009 about the trail and its dedication.
More News From Miami County - As some of you already know (from reading my newsletters), that the Miami County Trails Task Force is building a 22 mile main North to South trail from Sydney (Shelby County) in the North through Piqua, Troy and Tipp City in Miami County to Taylorsville MetroPark in Montgomery County. They are also embarked on a series of Miami County Lateral Trails that will branch off of the main trail and run East and West. Among the trails being planned are as follows:
- Trail East from Piqua through Spring Creek and Brown Townships to Fletcher and the County Line. Plans are being made in Champaign County to carry this trail East all the way to Urbana.
- Trail West from Piqua through Washington and Newberry Townships to Covington and Bradford. The trail is planned to be completed West from Miami County to Greenville the county seat of Darke County. Darke County is planning to take the trail West to Union City Ohio where a trail is currently being built to Union City, Indiana. Eventually the trail will connect to Indiana's Cardinal Greenway.
There are other trail segments being considered but those mentioned above are examples. As the Task Force establishes Points of Contact for each planned section, the rough point to point distance and schedule I will add a new webpage called, appropriately enough, Miami County Lateral Trails to track the planning and construction progress on each for you.
Read a Dayton Daily News article by Nancy Bowman on the trail construction in Miami County.
Peterson Road South to Eldean Road Section (Miami County) - The bids are in and the contract is awarded. The contract valued at $589K is scheduled to be completed by 15 October 2000 for this 1.99 mile section.
Trail from Kyle Park (Miami County) to Taylorsville MetroPark (Montgomery County) - Last month I told you that construction had been delayed somewhat with bid opening scheduled for July 2009. I was told by Five Rivers MetroParks that they had accepted Stimulus Funds from the federal government for this construction. Because of the way the funding works, they will have to build something else with the deferred funds. They intend to enhance the Stillwater River Recreation Trail (read on).
Stillwater River Recreation Trial - Five Rivers MetroParks has decided to take the Stillwater River Recreation Trail off of the road in Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark. So starting at Siebenthaler Ave. and going north, the bikeway will be between the entry drive for the park and the Stillwater River. Five Rivers MetroParks will not know the extent of that project until engineering studies are done for this trail segment.
- Northern Stillwater Recreation Trail - As some of you know, this trail is in two sections with a several mile gap in between. The Northern section starts at Englewood MetroPark and runs South about 2 miles to Jake Grossnickle Memorial Park (behind Good Samaritan North Health Center 9000 North Main Street.
- Southern Stillwater Recreation Trail - The Southern Section starts at Sinclair Park in Harrison Township and runs South 3.8 miles to Island MetroPark. There it connects with the Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Northern Segment) running North from there to Taylorsville MetroPark (and soon into Miami County – see above) and South to Franklin, Ohio (See Great Miami River Recreation Trail).
Ohio River Trail to Downtown Cincinnati from Lunken Airport (Source: Don Burrell OKI) - After years of planning and negotiations, Ohio River Way has announced a funding drive and schedule to build the Ohio River Trail from East End to Downtown along the Oasis Rail line. This is considered the "temporary" route that would utilize the rail bed and the four miles of inactive track. The trail would be paved and fenced from the active rail line used for occasional freight delivery. The agreement reached for proceeding with the trail in the rail corridor calls for $4 million of private funding for this section as public funding was used to originally purchase the railroad right of way to preserve it only for rail transit operations. The goal is to have the necessary pledges in hand by December 2009 and the trail completed in 2010. Hamilton County Parks will manage the construction and maintain the trail. This civic initiative is being led by Ohio River Way, an Ohio 501(c)3 non-proﬁt corporation. Visit the Ohio River Way website to buy a few inches toward the construction of the trail. http://www.ohioriverway.org/ohiorivertrail/
See also my page at: http://www.miamivalleytrails.org/ohio_river_trail.htm
New Prairie Grass Trail Construction in Madison and Franklin County - As you know the Prairie Grass Trail (AKA Ohio To Erie Trail) starts at the Xenia Station, runs through Cedarville, South Charleston, London and currently ends 6.5 miles East of London at Wilson Road. The Franklin County Parks Department and the Columbus and Franklin County MetroParks are working together to extend the trail 11 more miles into Columbus. Called the Camp Chase RailTrail (since it goes past Camp Chase a Civil War POW Camp in Columbus). The sections are as follows:
- Section 1 Wilson Road to Kropp Road (6 miles) - The first section has started construction. This 6 mile section starts at Wilson Road (the current end of trail), runs through the town of Lily Chapel, crosses into Franklin County and goes through the town of Georgesville to end at Kropp Road. The builders are hoping to have this six mile section completed this year; 2009.
- Section 2 - Kropp Road to Galloway Road (2.4 miles)- This section starts at Kropp Road and runs 2.4 miles through the town of Galloway to end at Galloway Road. I do not have a timetable for Section 2 yet.
- Section 3 - Galloway Road to Columbus and Sullivant Road (3 miles) - The final section of the Camp Chase RailTrail will run 3 miles from Galloway Road crossing into Columbus. It will go under I-270 and end at Sullivant Avenue. At 2900 Sullivant Avenue is the Camp Chase Cemetery .
- Yahoo Map - Here is a Yahoo Map for you to look at. I have centered the map at the current trail's end at Wilson Road. The railbed at this point is almost exactly West to East. You can follow the railbed all of the way to Sullivant Avenue in Columbus if you want to. I do this A LOT! so I can see where the proposed trail goes and get spatial awareness of it. You'll find a LOT of links to Yahoo Maps on my webpages. I think it helps my readers to understand what I am talking about to have a picture to see.
- Article on New Trail in Madison Messenger 06/13/09) - More information is available from the Madison Messenger paper article dated 13 June 2009. And my thanks to the Friends of Madison County Parks & Trails for providing the information you are reading here.

Website Changes and Improvements

Ohio River Trail Page - I've been updating this page with information about the new trail that will be built Southwest from Lunken Airport to downtown Cincinnati at Sawyer's Point where it will join the Purple People Bridge that takes the trail to Kentucky across the Ohio River.
Events Page - I am always updating this page with new events and taking out those events that have already happened.

Photos & Information Wanted Department

None this month

Did you Know Department?

News from the Little River Café in Oregonia – As many of you know (those who read my newsletters religiously) the Little River Café had a devastating fire in February 2009. I understand that Mark Burris, the owner, is starting to rebuild. I do not have a date when re-construction will be complete but Mark’s cycling friends along the Little Miami Scenic Trail will support him when he re-opens.
Waterways & Pathways Is Available - Once again the Waterways & Pathways publication which is a printed guide to "bike trails, rivers and parks in Southwest Ohio" is available. You can get copies free at the following locations:
- Xenia Chamber of Commerce
- Xenia Station
- Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce
- Young's Jersey Dairy
- Bicycle shops in the area
- Greene County Convention and Visitor's Bureau
I am going to try to get this turned into an Adobe Acrobat file by the publisher so that you can read it on-line here or at other park's websites.

Announcements of Upcoming Events

See Upcoming Events Area

Street Starts Course - Miami Valley StreetSmarts Cycling is a great practical class to learn the craft and sport of cycling in a short span, you will have more fun and more confidence on any trail, street and the rest of the summer riding season! The class is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, 5:30 - 8:30 PM and June 20 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM at the Miami Township Fire & Rescue 225 Corry Street, Yellow Springs, OH, downtown Yellow Springs behind Subway. Attendance at both sessions required. A brochure (PDF) with information about class structure, prerequisites, instructor bios and a registration form can be found online at http://tinyurl.com/mv-streetsmarts-cycling.

Webpage of the Month

Trail Etiquette & Safety - This month's "page de Jure" is the Trail Etiquette and Safety page. There you can find what I call Rules of The Trail. I provide what I (and others) think how you should behave while on a trail. It tells you about who has the right-of-way and has a link to another page the Digest of Motor Vehicle Laws (as they apply to cyclists).

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

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