A Trail for Your Commute

So I am riding my bike one day on Riverside Drive on the way over towards Lunken Airport from downtown. Wow! Is this road busy during commute time for drivers! Drivers, caffeine induced, trying to get to work and at times some are late. I have been one of them. I have nothing against people traveling to work, we need them! But.....it is hard to see all of the cyclists and runners, especially when the sun is just coming up over the horizon.

Wouldn’t it be nice to get off this road? Well that’s what the final 4 miles of the Ohio River Trail, so called THE FINAL LINK will do for us.

A friend showed me some pictures of the rail that the new recreational trail will eventually reside. I walked part of it after the ride, and I couldn’t believe in some sections, that I was actually near the road or near downtown. What a fantastic views between Riverside Drive (below) and Columbia Parkway (above) as you travel down the river.

So we have some work to do. First, we need money to build the trail, private funds to go along with the public funds to create this great FINAL LINK, which when done will stretch all the way from Newtown to downtown. Over 75% of the cost will come from Federal, State and local funds, with the City of Cincinnati kicking in a great grant to support the project. We have the support of our Mayor and City Council. Yeah!

Now we just need to get through this economic downturn, raise some money and soon we will be able to enjoy a first class recreational trail. And oh by the way, after it is down there are plans to link the Sawyer Point area to trails being developed in Northern Kentucky too!

So join me in being a part of THE FINAL LINK!

-- Dave Szkutak