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Bike trail helps transform Mill Creek
By Steve Kemme • • March 29, 2009

For decades, the Mill Creek has been viewed as a detriment to the communities
around it.

The polluted condition of this waterway, which cuts through the middle of
Hamilton County and empties into the Ohio River, caused one national river
conservation group 12 years ago to call it “the most endangered urban river in
North America.”

But the Mill Creek corridor is on the cusp of a major transformation.

The first phase of a plan to change the corridor into an area that people will
want to live near and visit is about to get under way.

The non-profit Mill Creek Restoration Project will begin building a 0.6-mile
hike/bike trail along the creek from Salway Park in Spring Grove Village to the
Dooley Bypass and Ludlow Avenue in Northside.

That’s part of a proposed 3.4-mile bike trail that would run from Mitchell
Avenue in Spring Grove Village to the Mill Creek Road bridge in South
Cumminsville. It’s called the Queen City-South Mill Creek Greenway Trail.

The project includes restoring the creek banks and reforesting the corridor with
native plants and trees.

In conjunction with this, the Metropolitan Sewer District will be cleaning up
the creek under a federal consent order.

“It’s a very comprehensive plan,” said Robin Corathers, executive director of
the Mill Creek Restoration Project. “It’s more than just building a bike trail.”

The first phase, which will begin this spring, costs $265,000. Funds have been
provided by the Clean Ohio Trail Fund, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and
Mill Creek Restoration Project donors.

Completion of the second and third phases of the project covering about three
miles will require $4.9 million. Corathers is seeking federal stimulus funds for
this.

This project is part of Cincinnati’s Mill Creek Greenway Trail Program. Its goal
is to clean up Mill Creek and to revitalize the neighborhoods in its corridor.

“I think it’s a wonderful investment for the city,” Cincinnati Councilwoman
Roxanne Qualls said. “It clearly will have an impact on all the neighborhoods
along the Mill Creek. It will improve their quality of life and raise their
visibility.”

Northside is becoming more of a walking neighborhood, and the bike/ hike trail
will strengthen that trend, said Tim Jeckering who has lived in the neighborhood
for 28 years and is president of the Northside Community Council.

“There are more and more people moving in here all the time who like to walk to
the neighborhood business district,” he said. “It’s another way for us to
attract and keep people who appreciate urban living.”

Spring Grove Village, formerly called Winton Place, is a lower- to middle-class
community that’s struggled with blighted conditions, like many other communities
along the Mill Creek.

James Beauchamp, president of the Spring Grove Village Community Council, sees
the bike trail as a big enhancement for his community.

It’s difficult to attract economic development and new residents to Spring Grove
Village, he said.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, and we have landfills,” Beauchamp said. “We’re
always looking for more amenities to help market ourselves. A bike trail would
provide a nice amenity.”

The 3.4-mile bike trail would link North Avondale, Clifton, Spring Grove Village
Northside, South Cumminsville and Millvale as well as Spring Grove Cemetery and
Salway Park.

Corathers envisions the Queen City-South Cumminsville Greenway Trail eventually
extending south to downtown Cincinnati and hooking up the hike/bike trail being
built along parts of the Ohio River. It also could run farther to the north and
link to other bike trails.

Kathy Holwadel, chairwoman of the Cincinnati Bike and Pedestrian Advisory
Committee created by City Council in 1992, linking this trail with others will
enable more people to use the bike trails for commuting to and from work as well
as for bicycling for recreation and exercise.

“They all fit together,” Holwadel said. “I view this trail as part of a bike
superhighway system in Cincinnati.”

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...0027/1055/NEWS

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