Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter May 2010

Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter
May 2010

Dear Friends: It’s Saturday 15 May 2010. I have some trail news for you. Please read on for news of the Miami Valley.

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 Construction for 2009 – As you know the Miami Valley continues to add to and improve the trail system. In my February and March issues of this newsletter I gave you details of the upcoming construction. As I do that I update my:
Approved Multi-Use Trail Projects Page

You can easily reach the page by going to my Home Page and selecting the “Resources” drop-down menu and then picking the “Funded Multi-Use Trail Projects” page. Recent events have led me to change some of the start dates for several area projects. I’d also like to thank Mr. Ken McCall a staff writer for the Dayton Daily News. He is the “Go-To” reporter in the area for bike trail news.

He wrote two great articles on April 14 that summarize (with a good map) most of the new trail projects in the area. The first article is titled Area Bike Trails Getting, bigger, better (DDN 04/14/10) He counted 17 bike and bike related projects in Montgomery, Greene and Miami Counties. They are not specified in this article which describes the Riverscape Bike Hub project in downtown Dayton which is planned to be complete this June. His accompanying article Bike trail, sidewalk improvement projects to begin (DDN 04/19/10) describes each of the 19 projects that he mentioned in the first article.

Dayton Daily News Trail Improvements Map - I am re-publishing (Source; DDN), the map that goes along with this second article, to show you generally, where the projects are located. Click on the map above or Click Here to see the Dayton Daily News map of all of the trail improvements.

Two of the projects he writes about are some of the most important links in our growing system.

Connection from Montgomery County to Miami County – The long awaited connection from Taylorsville MetroPark (Montgomery County) across the county line to Thomas Kyle Park (Miami County) on the Great Miami River Recreation Trail makes a trail that can carry you from Troy in the North, through Tipp City, Dayton and Miamisburg to Franklin in the South.

Area Bike Trails Getting, bigger, better - Ken McCall DDN 04/19/10

His second article the same day is titled Bike trail, sidewalk improvement projects to begin” – Ken McCall DDN 04/19/10. It also includes the map (link above) which shows you the location of all the projects.

News from Darke County – I believe I told you that Darke County was funded for an extension of the Greenville Creek Trail.

The Darke County Parks Department received an award from Clean Ohio Fund of $188K to start construction of what I have begun to call the Ohio To Indiana Trail. They are still waiting for funding to purchase the 11 miles of railbed from Greenville West to the existing trail in Union City; the Union City Gateway. To the East the new funds will allow for the construction of about two miles of trail through Gettysburg and within one half mile of Bradford . Construction is hoped to start in Spring 2010.

News from the City of Dayton - A community message was issued by the City of Dayton on Wednesday April 21, 2010. It says that Bike Lanes are Part of New Downtown Two-Way Street Conversion Beginning Thursday, April 22 Two-way traffic will soon flow on several downtown Dayton streets that have been used as one-way thoroughfares since the 1960s. Sections of First, Second and Fourth Streets, Patterson Boulevard and Monument Avenue will shift to two-way operation following completion of resurfacing, striping and traffic signal installation now underway.
- The first street scheduled to convert is Monument Avenue, which is scheduled to open to two-way traffic, from Webster Street to Patterson Boulevard, on Thursday, April 22. Additional roll-outs will occur over the next few weeks as work is completed on individual streets, with project completion anticipated by May 10.
- Traffic flow and parking meter access may be restricted as construction and conversion work continues. Drivers should exercise caution in construction areas and give close attention to personnel, barrels, cones and signs directing traffic.
- A dedicated bike lane is being added to St. Clair Street (joining a bike lane recently added to Jefferson Street), and sharrows (specially marked lanes shared by automobile and bicycle traffic) will be added to Fourth and Fifth Streets.
- The two-way conversion marks the completion of a multi-year plan designed to improve traffic flow and accessibility for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians in downtown Dayton. The project was developed cooperatively by the City of Dayton and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.
- For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/1918880/
  Contact Information:
  Office of Public Affairs
  cityhall@cityofdayton.org
Dayton awarded bike-friendly status – The city of Dayton was awarded a bronze award from the League of American Bicyclists, for their efforts in making Dayton a “Bike Friendly Community.” Dayton joins Columbus the only other city in Ohio, that has had an award of any kind. The link above is to a 1 May 2010 DDN article by Ken McCall Dayton awarded bike-friendly status. Why is this important to you as a cyclist? Because now the City of Dayton and its construction contractors have to consider bicycle trails when they build, for example, a new road bridge. Every time they widen or repave a street they have to consider if the addition of a bike lane or sharrows will be advantageous for the community.

Website Changes and Improvements

Wolf Creek Recreation Trail Re-Opens - The Edwin C. Moses Street bridge, over the trail opened 13 May 2010. Presumably, the trail under the new bridge is also opened as of May 2010. I have revised my Wolf Creek Recreation Trail page to remove the "Construction Delay" notes.
Stewart Street Bikeway Open – Last month I told you that the Stewart Street Bikeway from the Stewart Street Bridge to the University of Dayton at Brown Street had been rebuilt. I took new pictures of the trail in April and completely rebuilt the webpage, by replacing all of the pictures and text. I also have information about the new trail extension down the Great Miami River on the East side of Edwin C. Moses Blvd. as described below. Sometime this year the trail will be extended. The new trail will be about 3,700 feet long and will cost $81K. It will start at the Stewart Street Bridge and drop down into the river bottom a couple of hundred feet South of Stewart. Then the route will come back up at opposite the University of Dayton Arena using the existing ramp, stay on levy to the Dayton Marriott Hotel and end at their parking lot.

Photos & Information Wanted Department

None this month

Did you Know Department?

Google Maps Now Includes Bike Trails – (Repeat) Last month I told you about Google Maps now including Bike Maps. What I did not try was asking Google to give me turn by turn directions (using bicycle routes) from one location to another. I tried that recently. I went to Google Maps. On the left side of the screen I clicked on "Get Directions." I put in the top Box "Piqua, Ohio" . I put "Urbana, Ohio in the bottom box. Underneath the two boxes From and To: there is a drop-down box that says by default "By Car." Click on it and select "By Bicycle" and then click on the "Get Directions: button. On the left side of the page are the turn-by-turn directions. Next to some of them is a camera symbol that tells you there is a picture you can see. On the right side of the screen is the map with the route outlined in blue. Click Here to see what I did. If you want to read my discussion of Google Maps from last month's newsletter Click Here.

Announcements of Upcoming Events

See Upcoming Events Area

Darke County Engineer Jim Surber Gets Roasted – Mr. Jim Surber; Darke County Engineer for 30 years will be “Roasted” for trail funding on 22 June 2010 at the Shawnee Prairie Preserve in Greenville. Darke County Parks District is having the event to help raise “In-Kind” donations for the construction of the next section of the Greenville Creek Trail. Gathering time is 6:00 - 6:30, dinner is 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM and the ROAST will be from 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM. Tickets will be at $15 each; $25 for two people. Click Here or above to print the flyer entitled "Roasting for the first mile" Proceeds from the ROAST benefit the new trails.

Webpage of the Month

Every month in this portion of my newsletter, I link to one webpage (or the beginning page of a group of webpages that refer to one trail) in this space. I do this so that my readers, who may not have ever seen that webpage get an opportunity to find it (and perhaps find some use of it).

Interactive Maps Page - This month’s webpage is our Interactive Maps Page. There you can find out almost anything about any trail in the Miami Valley. Take a look. I’m sure you’ll find the maps most useful to your trail use. When you use this new feature on the website, please notice that the colors that are used for each trail are identical to the colors on the MVRPC map that was revised in 2008. This was on purpose to make it easier for you to navigate. Also please check out a great videos that they have been adding to each of the maps. I have suggested that on a map that connects to another trail some provision be made to show the link to the other trail. The webmaster is working on my suggestion.

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.

HOME PAGE

Darke County Trails | Greenville Creek Trail | Bradford To Gettysburg Section | Ohio To Indiana Trail