Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter September 2010

Miami Valley RailTrails Newsletter
September 2010

Dear Friends: It’s Wednesday 15 September 2010 and 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

The following is a recap of trail construction in the Miami Valley

Beavercreek Station Nears Completion - The City of Beavercreek’s new trail station will be dedicated Wednesday 22 September, 2010 at 6:00 PM at the Station. The new station is at North Fairfield Road where the Creekside Trail crosses it in Beavercreek just North of US-35. I have added a couple of new pictures to the page and will be at the dedication.
News from Darke County -
- Bradford to Gettysburg Section First Mile Is Complete - This trail section of the Ohio-To- Indiana Trail (Ohio Route #36) is complete. The 1.8 mile trail runs East from North Bridge Street to about 800’ from the rail-bed’s intersection with Bradford-New Harrison Road. Plans call for closing the 800’ gap early in 2011.
- Gettysburg to Greenville Section - Darke County Parks plans to continue construction of this trail to the West of Gettysburg in 2011. An additional 4.3 miles of trail of which 1.6 miles will be new trail and the rest will be lane markings, signage and resurfacing of an existing bridge will be built.
News from Miami County –
- Taylorsville MetroPark to Tipp City connection construction news –Construction is ongoing on this vital connection between Montgomery and Miami Counties on the Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Ohio Route #25). Ross Road, the Northern boundary of Taylorsville MetroPark will be closed soon for several weeks in order to build the tunnel under the road.
- Trail Marking on Rural Roads for Ohio To Indiana Trail –
  - P.A.T.H. West to Covington - Work has been completed on marking of the trail from Piqua’s P.A.T.H. trail which ends at Spiker Road into Covington (2 routes) and from there West to Bradford. The effort is starting to the East of Piqua to mark the rural trail to Fletcher and Lena (Miami County Line).
  - P.A.T.H. East to Fletcher - A similar effort is being started in Champaign County to mark the route East to Fletcher and Lena. As I get turn-by-turn information and maps, I’ll post them on my Ohio to Indiana Trail page.
News from Champaign County
- Simon Kenton Trail Extension North – This is the continuation of the Simon Kenton Trail North from Urbana to Bellefontaine. The new trail will start construction in early 2011, at the Urbana Depot and run Northeast about 100 yards on the existing trail. Then a ramp will be built from the existing trail up to the Railroad Bridge that crosses over the existing trail. The trail will continue North about another mile along the old railbed to end at Grimes Field ( Urbana 's airport).
News from Greene County
- Xenia-Jamestown Trail Extension - The City of Xenia expects to award a contract for the trial in September 2010 and construction should get started soon thereafter. The goal is to complete this project before the snow flies but construction is weather dependent. The trail will be built Southeast from Xenia Station just East of Home Road, Ohio-68, to its intersection with US-35. There will be a detour to get to the existing trail Southeast of US-35 that runs from there to the Fayette County line.
News from Madison County
- New Trailhead East of Maple Street - I am told that the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) have started construction on a Trailhead for the trail East of where the trail re-starts in the East side of London at Center Street. They are building a parking lot about Ľ mi. to the East on a vacant lot. They expect to have it complete by 30 October. While it does not have water or restrooms (yet) there will be 10 parking places for cars.
- Trail Construction East of London - Construction on the Prairie Grass Trail East of London is being built by Franklin County MetroParks. The section starts in Lily Chapel about 1.64 miles East of the current terminus of the trail at Wilson Road. The paving starts in Lily Chapel at W. Jefferson - Kiousville (County Hwy. 22) and runs East from there past Georgesville about miles to Kropp Road. The trail from Lily Chapel to Kropp Road will be about 4 miles long when completed.
News from Outside the Miami Valley
- Countyline Trail in Northern Wayne County - Wayne County (Wooster) – The trail will run from Ohio Ave. in Rittman (near the Morton Salt plant) to Brooklyn St. in Creston, beside the police dept. There will be parking near Ohio Ave. in Rittman, CR 504 east of Sterling, Kauffman Ave. in Sterling, and along the W&LE railroad tracks near the Police Dept. in Creston. Contract completion of the trail is `5 November, 2010. While you’re in Wayne County you might also want to ride their Sippo Valley RailTrail which they share with Stark County.
- See their Trail Development Page - to show a map of all the trails in Wayne County including the Countyline Trail

Website Changes and Improvements

News from Clinton County – In August’s newsletter I told you about the new Clean Ohio Trails Grants especially the one that will allow the Clinton County Trails Coalition (CCTC) to buy the 28 miles of railbed from Wilmington Northeast all of the way through Clinton and Fayette County to New Holland on the Fayette/Pickaway county line. Since then I have updated my website as follows with new information from Clinton County
- Updated Miami Valley Trails Page – On this page I keep track of all the trails (335 miles by last count) in the 15 counties that I consider the Miami Valley. I added the five trails in Clinton County (all in Wilmington) to the page. I also added a link to their Facebook Page here.
- Trail Maps page Updated – I added to maps of the Clinton County Trails (Wilmington) to the page
- Friends of the Trail Page Updated – I added the information that the CCTC has a Facebook Page;
  I Love The Wilmington, Ohio Trails.
- I recommended that other Friends groups think about establishing a Facebook page for their organization.
Trail Sponsors Page Updated – I have had for some time a page dedicated to those organizations that help me maintain this website. They include County Parks Department, Cities and Townships, Convention & Visitor's Bureaus, Friends Groups and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (these groups fund road, bridges and, of yes, trails!). I completely revised the form of the page to make it easier to find organizations.
Website Statistics Page Updated - I updated this page that shows my website usage with the 01 Jan - 30 June Google Analytics report. You can also see daily statistics about the number of people using the website that comes from Quantcast.
Ohio To Indiana Trail Page Updated- I have added several maps to this page as well as changing the order of what you see on the page to make it easier to read. As more sections of trail are built, I will add new pages for each of them.

Photos & Information Wanted Department

None this month

Did you Know Department?

Miami Valley RailTrails is 14 Years Old! - In 1997, I went to the dedication of the new Creekside Trail in Greene County. I introduced myself to the then director of Parks and told him I did not find a website for this trail. I then asked him if he had a website and he said "No." I asked him if he wanted a website for his new trail and he said: "Yes." Well. That's how it started and now we are in the 14th. year of operation.

Announcements of Upcoming Events

See Upcoming Events Area

22 September 2010 - Beavercreek Station Dedication, 6:00 PM N. Fairfield road at Creekside Trail

25 September 2010- Clark County "Save Our Parks - Jazz Festival Saturday Music 12:30 AM to 10 PM
Moonlight Rides with Simon Kenton Pathfinders: All rides meet at Surf n Cycle , Xenia Ohio
- September 25th. 7:00 PM
- October 23rd. 6:30 PM

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).

Miami Valley Trails System Page - This page shows all of the trails in the fifteen counties that I consider the Miami Valley. On this page I keep track of the total mileage of the trails. This month I added all of the trails in Clinton County to the page.

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