The major project by the City of Riverside and ODOT to upgrade the intersection of US 35 and Woodman Drive was certainly overdue and will make that area function better for traffic when it is completed. It has had the unfortunate effect of closing and detouring the Creekside Trail in the vicinity. But it also will leave a permanent beneficial legacy for a couple of neighborhoods in Riverside that in years past had no safe and convenient connection to the trail right next to their community.

Trail users on the Mad River Trail (8) have a new, more direct route to reach Webster Street, the Second Street Market and other destinations in Dayton's Water Street District (such as Day Air Ball Park). A recently-completed ramp from the trail, up the levee, and to Webster Street has been opened by the Miami Conservancy District.

The Miami Valley Trails in their current stage of development offer a pair of linked Trail "hubs" and numerous "spokes" to explore. The hubs are in Xenia and Dayton. The spokes stretch out from those hubs across ten counties and over 330 miles of trails. A potential visitor from out of state recently asked for some assistance in planning a bike touring trip along the Miami Valley Trails. These visitors set pretty specific parameters: they only wanted to ride on trails - paved separated trails. They did not want to ride on roads, sharing space with motor traffic.

After a short project to address areas of the trail that were consistently wet, the trail through the Five Rivers MetroParks Medlar Conservation Area has been re-opened. The project was undertaken to improve safety and contribute to a longer life for the trail pavement.

It was in September of 1973 that the City of Troy completed a project on MCD property, with funding assistance from The Troy Foundation to build a mile-long trail atop the flood levees from the Westbrook neighborhood to downtown Troy. In September 2023 a good sized crowd of advocates, community leaders, trail users and trail managers gathered at the Adams Street Bridge to mark the 50th Anniversary of that first mile of trail in what has become the Miami Valley Trails network.

Two major projects for trail bridges in Piqua are complete!

The City of Piqua announced the re-opening on one bridge and the grand opening of another in September 2023. Together, these bridges provide vital north-south AND east-west connections in the city and link two of the Miami Valley Trails. Let's take them one at a time.

Great Miami River Trail