Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter September 2006

Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter
September 2006

It’s Sunday 17 August 2006 and I should be out riding the trails for Greene County. Anyway here is the news about trails in the Miami Valley. Please read on.

Trail Construction and Improvements.	Website Changes and Improvements
Photos Wanted Section	Did You Know Department
Announcements of Upcoming Cycling Events

Trail Construction and Improvements

Little Miami Scenic Trail in Terrace Park Now Open – Last month I explained about the delay in opening the trail during the week from Milford through Terrace Park of the Little Miami Scenic Trail. According to ODNR as of 25 August 2006 the trail was completely open. This meant that they completed work one month ahead of schedule. ODNR said that they still had a small amount of work to be accomplished but it would be done without disturbing trail users during the week.
Washington Street Bridges Closes for Demolition and Replacement - The Washington Street Bridge in downtown Dayton that passes over the Great Miami River Recreation Trail closed 28 August for demolition and replacement. The work is expected to be complete by December 2007. There is a planned detour for cyclists and other trail users. See the link above for instructions.
Trail Construction in the Miami Valley - The summer riding season is almost over. Yes there will be some wonderful cycling days in Indian Summer but for a lot of us, it’s time to put away the bicycle for the year. 2006 was not marked with a great deal of trail construction. But what I want to share with you here is:
1. The trails that were built, or will be finished this year
2. The trails in planning and
3. The trails in long range planning.
Summary of Trail Construction in the Miami Valley (Under Construction or Planned)

Under Construction or finished in 2006:
- Ellis Park Spur - 1,400 feet Little Miami Scenic Trail to the Park (Finished) This spur is just North of Yellow Springs from the Little Miami Scenic Trail West to Ellis Park on Polecat Road.
- Great Miami River Recreation Trail (GMRRT) - Crains Run Nature Park to Franklin – 3.7 miles ( November 2006) This trail section is part of the planned 28 mile extension of the GMRRT from Montgomery County to Hamilton in Butler County. It was formerly called “The Great Connection.”
- Little Miami Scenic Trail (LMST) Milford to Little Miami Golf Center – (Sept 2006) - 4.4 miles. This extension to the LMST continues the trail another 4.4 miles closer Lunken Airport which will be the end of the Little Miami Scenic Trail. From there to Cincinnati the trail will be called the Ohio River Trail which will cross over the Ohio River on the “Purple People Bridge” from Sawyer’s Point to Newport Kentucky at the Aquarium.
- Iron Horse Trail – County Line Road to State Farm Park (Kettering) about 1 mile. This trail when complete will start at the Creekside Recreation Trail and travel South through Kettering and Centerville to the Iron Horse Park.
Planned Construction
- T-Connector- 1,600 feet - 2006 to 2008 – Huffman MetroPark to Wright Brothers Memorial. This tunnel under SR-444 and bridge over the Norfolk & Southern RR will travel from Huffman MetroPark to the Wright Brothers Memorial on Kauffman Avenue. Plans are to start construction on this $2 million project in 2006 with a planned 2008 completion. This construction is a part of the Three Counties Trail (nominal name).
- Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Miami County) [GMRRT] – about 22 miles (when complete) [ being built in segments]
  - Sections 3 & 4. Taylorsville MetroPark to Troy (Start July 2007) . These two sections of the trail are planned to start construction in 2007 and will connect Taylorsville MetroPark to Tipp City and Tipp City to the existing Section 1 of the GMRRT (Miami County) which is now finished to Troy. This trail, when complete will be over 20 miles from Taylorsville MetroPark to Tipp City, Troy, Piqua and Sidney. [Additional Info 09/19/06 - I was told recently by a reliable source that these two sections might have "property problems"; i.e. may be having trouble acquiring the right of way. He told me that 2008 might be a better bet for a construction date for Sections 3 & 4]
- Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Butler County) [GMRRT] - 28 miles (being built in segments. This 28 mile increase in the GMRRT starts in Montgomery County at Crains Run Nature Park. It continues to Hamilton, Ohio.
  - Crains Run Nature Park to Franklin (See Above) 3.7 miles [To be completed in 2006]
  - Franklin to Middletown - (Unknown) about 4 miles - This section of the GMRRT is not yet scheduled. The right of way is not secured and at present there is no funding for construction.
  - Middletown to Hamilton - (6.6 miles completed in Middletown ) - There is about 8 miles from Old SR-73 to complete the GMRRT to reach the existing trail in Hamilton, Ohio. I know of no schedule or funding at this time.
- Taylorsville MetroPark To Island MetroPark - (2007) The existing trail in Taylorsville MetroPark is to be extended North into Miami County (see above). This trail is also to be extended South to connect with Island MetroPark in downtown Dayton. That will connect Taylorsville MetroPark to the Miami Valley Trails System, as I am beginning to call the emerging system which now consists of 204 miles of connected trails .
- Iron Horse Trail – 5.5 miles (Unknown Construction Date) - This trail now ending in Beavercreek is being extended West and South to Kettering and Centerville. The City of Centerville Parks requested Clean Ohio Funding to build the trail North from Iron Horse Park to the City of Kettering border. The City of Kettering is extending the trail North and East to Beavercreek (see above for 2006 construction)
- Three Counties Trail – 15 miles Eastwood MetroPark to Enon (Unknown Construction Date) - This trail is in planning by Montgomery, Greene and Clark counties. The trail will run from Eastwood MetroPark through Huffman MetroPark to the Wright Brothers Memorial via the T-Connector. It will utilize the existing Wright Brothers Bikeway and will be extended to the East side of Fairborn at Black Lane. From there it will continue to Enon Park in Clark County.
- The Tecumseh Trail – 2 miles (Planned construction date 2008) - This two mile trail is the beginning of a planned longer trail that will connect New Carlisle to Park Layne and South.
- Bellbrook to Little Miami Scenic Trail Spur - (Unknown Construction Date) - This 2 or 3 mile spur will connect Bellbrook to the LMST near Spring Valley and SR-725. This trail segment is in long range planning at this time.

Website Changes and Improvements

Wright Brothers Bikeway Webpage Updated - I rode the Wright Brothers Bikeway from the Wright Brothers Memorial on Kauffman Avenue to downtown Fairborn recently in order to photograph it and update the page. This trail currently is a 4.6 mile stub and so goes nowhere. However Five Rivers MetroParks is purchasing a right of way from Norfolk Southern Railroad. The route will be from Eastwood MetroPark to Huffman MetroPark and from the end of the current trail alongside the railway in Fairborn to the Black Lane area of Fairborn and then on to Enon Park. At that point Fairborn becomes connected to the Miami Valley Trails System. This new trail is now called the Three Counties Trail.
Links Page Updated - I've completely updated the Links Page on the website. There you can find links to railtrail organizations in other states as well as find local bicycling clubs. I also have links there to things of interest in the Dayton and Xenia area as well as near the Little Miami Scenic Trail
204 Miles Of Connected Trail in Miami Valley - I am starting to call the emerging trails system in the Miami Valley the "Miami Valley Trails System" As of 2006 by my count there are 204 miles of connected trail in the area. Please see my list on my Miami Valley Trails webpage which has my master list by county for your use as well as the total miles of connected trail. The parks departments of the counties in the Miami Valley are continuing to plan for more trails for your use. See the recap for 2006 above Trail Construction in the Miami Valley.

Photos Wanted Section

Nothing new at this time. See my August 2006 Newsletter for needed photos.

Did You Know Department

Trails remain largely volunteer effort (Dayton Daily News 8/24/04) This article was about the volunteer “Trail Guardians” that ride Greene County’s trails with police radios. The article was also about trail development in Greene County both current and plans for additional trails. The article written by Ms. Joan Clodfelter a contributing editor of the DDN, interviewed primarily Mr. Jim Schnieder the Assistant Greene County Parks Director and Trail Manager. The article also quoted Ms. Barb Zajbel President of the Xenia Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Dan Young owner of Young's Dairy in Yellow Springs.
Clark County Starts “Trail Guardian” Group – National Trail Parks and Recreation of Clark County/Springfield is in process of establishing a formal "Trail Sentry" Group similar to the programs already functioning in Greene, Montgomery and Madison Counties. National Trail Parks & Recreation currently manages approximately 37 miles of recreational trail, including the Springfield area. Volunteer services are needed in all areas and time frames. This program will benefit all who use the trail and be beneficial to the central point of contact needed to keep our trail system clean, in good repair, and safer thru observation reporting. Persons interested in volunteering for the Sentry program should contact National Trail office on Mitchell Blvd, in Springfield Oh. Phone 937-328-7275 Mon-Fri between the hours of 7:00AM-5:00PM.
Miami County Parks Department to Start Trail Volunteers Group – The Parks Department is planning to start a “Trail Guardians” group like the ones already established in Montgomery, Greene and Madison Counties (and the one currently being developed in Clark County) in Spring 2007. There will be a press release in Spring 2007 and I’ll remind all those who would like to volunteer to support their fellow trail users in Miami County.

Announcements of Upcoming Cycling Events
(Also See Events Page )

Nothing new this month

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. 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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