River West Working Group is excited to announce that the Ohio River Trail West has been awarded a $1.045 million Federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality grant. With the commitment of $261,000 of City of Cincinnati bike program and other funds, $1.3 million is available toward construction of Phase 1 of the bikeway and greenway project.
These funds will be used for the construction of over half of the 3.7 miles of Phase 1, running from the Evans recreation area next to Lower Price Hill and around the Gilday-Riverside recreation complex. Other highlights along the route are the proposed park at Price Landing, the hillsides of Mt. Echo Park and Embshoff Woods, the historic village of Sedamsville, and great views of Downtown and the hills of Kentucky.
Tom Croft, co-chair of River West, said, “We greatly appreciate the initiative of the City’s Department of Transportation and Engineering in developing and submitting the grant application, and the support of Mayor John Cranley, who set up the bike program funding that seeded the Federal grant. Also, the work of the Ohio Department of Transportation and the OKI Regional Council of Governments, and the support of State Senator Bill Seitz and Representatives Bill Blessing and Lou Terhar were very significant in its evaluation.”
River West Working Group is an advocacy group engaging the community about development and land use along the Western Riverfront. The ultimate goal for the Ohio River Trail West is a 28 mile off-road bikeway and greenway connecting Smale Riverfront Park to Shawnee Lookout. It will be easily accessible for recreational uses to at least 150,000 West Side residents, and provide an important transportation alternative for many more.
River West co-chair Dave Zelman said, “The Ohio River Trail West is a big factor in the ongoing revitalization of our western Hamilton County neighborhoods, many of which are underserved by this kind of amenity. It will encourage access to the Ohio River and its surrounding hillsides, our greatest natural assets.”
Click here for preliminary drawings of the Ohio River Trail Phase 1