Enquirer staff writer
Walking along the Ohio River or riding a bicycle to downtown Cincinnati has become more enjoyable with the opening Saturday of another section of the Ohio River Trail.
The new section of the trail is 4,000 feet long and runs along the riverfront from Corbin Street, near the Schmidt ball fields and boat ramp, to Delta Avenue.
The trail cost around $750,000 and is part of a plan to build a 22-mile hiking and biking trail from Coney Island to Sayler Park. Four other sections have been built - including in Sayler Park, the Lunken Bike Trail, Bicentennial Commons and a trail at the new Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park.
Columbia Tusculum resident Ben Wetherill said he works downtown and often bikes from his home rather than driving. But he doesn't enjoy biking on Eastern Avenue, a main link to downtown.
From 2000 to 2002, Wetherill served as president of the Riverfront East Trail Association. The group held monthly meetings and worked to include trails in the city council's agenda for riverfront and downtown development.
The group's ideas began to materialize when councilman Pat DeWine made a motion in 2001 to build a route from Lunken Airport to downtown by 2007, Wetherill said. Project organizers predicted that it would cost $13 million to build that stretch.
During Saturday's unveiling, DeWine said the route was important to help keep residents in Cincinnati and stem population loss.
The segment that opened Saturday took two years to build, said Jim Coppock, a city engineer helping to oversee the trail's creation.
The next step is building a half-mile path from Wilmer Avenue to Carrel Street, Coppock said. More than $1 million in federal funds has already been secured to build the path, which is expected to be finished within three years.
Interest in trail building in the city dates to the 1970s, Coppock said. Passage of a 1991 federal transportation act boosted funding.
A couple of obstacles, including some railroad crossings, are preventing connection of the entire trail. But the rest is a matter of funding, he said.
A sign along the new segment shows distances to destinations organizers hope to connect with bike paths. Lunken Airport is two miles away, the Purple People Bridge four miles, and New Richmond 17 miles.
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E-mail abloomekatz@enquirer.com
