LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR THE OHIO RIVER TRAIL

OHIO RIVER TRAIL NEEDS LETTERS OF SUPPORT!


The Ohio River Trail could use your help with Letters of Support for the trail. Many of you are already aware of our fundraising campaign and that $12 million dollars has already been identified to build the trail. To complete the fundraising campaign we must raise $4 million in addition to the $12 million from private donations.


To help raise these final dollars we are applying for grants that specifically target hike & bike trails. Some of these grants would like to see letters of support from local businesses and residents to show how the trail will help their businesses and impact the region.

Our goal is to collect as many trail support letters to show how the trail will impact the community, the region and local businesses and tell the story regarding why it is important to get it done now.


Please help us get the trail built! If you decide to write a letter of support, please address your letter to The Ohio River Trail Project and answer one or all of the following questions:




1. How the trail will increase/impact bicycle ridership in the area and the region.


2. How the trail will impact small businesses. If you own a business, describe how it will affect your business.


3. Why you think it is important to build the trail now and how it will improve the quality of life for local residents.



Send your letters on letterhead, stationary or just on regular paper. You can email them to me at tlubic@gmail.com or you can mail them to: The Ohio River Way, PO Box 43261, Cincinnati, OH 45243. Thanks so much for your support.

Did you know...

OHIO RIVER TRAIL FACTS

The Ohio River Trail will complete the hike and bike trail from Newtown to downtown Cincinnati opening up an exciting network of 255 miles of trail. The Campaign Committee will raise private funds to match public funds committed to connect the trail from Lunken airport to the Friendship and Riverfront Parks. This project is a vital link in the vision for a healthy and vibrant region adjacent to the Ohio River and its tributaries.

Responsibilities:

Ø The Ohio River Way Campaign Committee will raise $4m dollars to fund the link.

Ø The Ohio River Way Board will be responsible for Governance and Oversight.

Ø Hamilton County Parks will oversee construction and maintenance of the Trail.

Benefits to the Region:

• Increasing quality of life in and around the Cincinnati region
• Building a dynamic urban core
• Attracting the best and brightest to live and work in the region
• Improving opportunities for health and fitness along the river
• Stimulating residential development downtown and in the trail corridor
• Tying neighborhoods to downtown activities and downtown to green space and parks

Goals and Project Costs ($16.8M):

• $4 M – private sector campaign for downtown to Lunken Airport segment (2010)
• $3.3 M – Federal & City funds secured to cross the Little Miami at Kellogg and build Wilmer to Carrell segment (2012)
• $5.7M – Request to State of Ohio Capital Budget to connect Kellogg to Beechmont ($1M secured to date)
• $3.8M – Hamilton County Parks and Anderson Township funds secured to connect Beechmont to Newtown (2012)
• Tie into trail to Lake Erie by 2020 (255 of 453 miles completed)
• Create a collaborative model for completing a 150 mile regional trail from Maysville, Kentucky to Madison, Indiana by 2020

Trail Partners for the Ohio River Trail:

• Ohio River Way, Inc.
• Hamilton County Park District
• Leadership Cincinnati
• Cincinnati City Council
• Hamilton County Commissioners
• Cincinnati Park Board
• Cincinnati Recreation Commission
• Bike/PAC
• Trail Yeah!
• Cincinnati Regional USA Chamber
• Leave No Child Inside

The Ohio River Way Ÿ P.O. Box 43261 ŸCincinnati, Ohio 45202 Ÿ 513-723-1916 voicemail

The Mural Ride

Next Bike-About is August 22nd Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper will lead this month's Bike-About along the Ohio River and vicinity, exploring murals and views along the footprint of our future trail. The ride is Saturday August 22nd, leaving from Fountain Square at 10am. Helmets required. We are looking for experienced ride leaders to help on this one; please note your interesting in leading when you rsvp to info@cincybikepac.org Keeping enjoying summertime! The Bike/PAC Team

New study links bike commuting, healthier people

New research published in the medical journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, indicates that people who ride their bicycles or walk to work are healthier than those who drive or take public transportation.

The study, published by the journal in its July 13 edition, reports that participants who bicycle or walk to work are more fit and less fat.

Unfortunately, slightly less than 17 percent of the more than 2,000 adult commuters surveyed in the study said they ride their bikes or walk to work, even part of the way. Researchers who led the study at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health said getting more people to “commute actively” requires reducing environmental barriers to make biking and walking safer.

Penny Gordon-Larsen, the study’s lead researcher, told the Associated Press that environmental barriers – including a lack of bike paths, crumbling sidewalks and long commute distances – keep Americans from active commuting by bike or foot and in their cars.

The research is yet another indicator of how the Ohio River Trail project – connecting downtown Cincinnati to Lunken Airport and eventually the Little Miami Bike Trail – can benefit the region.

The study included adult commuters in Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Ala., and Oakland, Calif. During examinations conducted between 2005 and 2006, participants reported the length of their commute in minutes and miles, including details on the percentage of the trip taken by car, public transportation, walking or bicycling.

Researchers also recorded the participants’ height, weight and other health variables, including blood pressure and fitness levels as assessed by a treadmill test. In addition, subjects wore an accelerometer to measure their levels of physical activity during at least four days of the study period. The average length of active commuters’ trips was 20 minutes for men and 17 minutes for women.

Previous research has shown that nations with higher levels of biking and walking have lower obesity levels. Only a small amount of research has been conducted analyzing the health of Americans of commute to work by bike or foot.

Bicycle Events of Note

Bike/PAC will have its monthly meeting on Monday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The featured speaker this month is Councilmember Laketa Cole. Councilmember Cole is chair of the city's Neighborhood Development Committee and will discuss the role of bicycle transportation in neighborhood development. This event is free and open to the public.

The Mercantile Library will host an event called Complete Streets on Tuesday, June 9 at 6 p.m. This event will feature Councilmember Roxanne Qualls and Clete Benken, ASLA and Principal of
Kinzelman Kline Gossman. The program is $8 for Mercantile Library and Architectural Foundation members; $10 for others. Reservations required. RSVP by June 5th at 513.621.0717 or mercantileinfo@mercantilelibrary.com

Your Ohio Ride Schedule

So, have you figured out what rides you're going to do this summer? Whether you want to hit the trails or the road, this guide has something for you.

Open publication - Free publishing - More ohio

Update from Friends of the Little Miami State Park

We have exciting news and a unique opportunity. With your help, we can pave 11 of the 15 trail bridges in the Little Miami State Park, redeck the remaining 4 bridges, and smooth out the 20 "patches" south of Morrow!

Since its founding less than 6 months ago on November 16, 2008, FLMSP has been unwavering in its commitment to improving trail safety. While, as an organization, we're moving on several fronts (e.g. Adopt-a-Trail, Trail Sentinel program, pipe-safes, etc.), trail safety has always been our number one priority. That's the reason we purchased 32 new oak boards to replace the rotten boards on several bridges.

Having replaced many boards, we all know that the ultimate solution is to pave over all of the wooden bridges. Paving eliminates uneven and rotten boards together with the associated slime mould. In fact, we've priced ChipSealing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal) for three "rivet-head" bridges just south of Xenia and were quoted $21K. For an organization with $3,600 in the bank, this was clearly out of our reach.

But our advocacy for the trail and our persistence has paid dividends. At our 3rd Public Meeting on April 26, five representatives from Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and Ohio State Parks were in attendance:

* John Hunter, ODNR Division of Parks & Recreation, Assistant Chief
* Tim Carr, Ohio State Parks, Regional Manager Cowan Lake Region
* Jim Henehan, Ohio State Parks, Manager Community Partnerships Program
* Gus Smithhisler, ODNR, Division of Engineering
* Alan Ferguson, Ohio State Parks, Park Manager for Little Miami State Park

At the Public Meeting, FLMSP president Simeon Copple was very clear about both our accomplishments and our goals. On Monday May 4 we had a follow-up meeting with representatives from Ohio State Parks and on Thursday May 21 we were informed that:

* Ohio State Parks has secured a contractor to pave 11 of the 15 bridges for $22,150.
* ODNR and Ohio State Parks have committed $18,160 in funding for this project --- if FLMSP provides the remaining $3,990. With only $3,600 in the bank, this means that FLMSP has an immediate need to raise $390.

However, the FLMSP Board is of the opinion that we should set our fundraising target at $7,000 for the reasons below:

* Remediate (i.e. smooth out) the 20 "patches" south of Morrow by using infrared technology to reheat the "patches" and then rework/reroll them --- $3,423.
* Replace rotten boards on the Lake Remington (mile marker 46.0), Bear Run at Foster (mile marker 38.0), and Spring Valley (mile marker 6.0) bridges --- $1,427.
* Anticipate future expenses for trail signage, pipe-safe locks, Adopt-a-Trail equipment and hand tools, etc. --- $2,150.

As an organization, we've come very far in a short period of time and we have before us a very real opportunity to make a significant contribution to the safety of the Little Miami State Park. No one wants to hear of anyone else air-lifted from the trail or taken away in an ambulance.

Therefore, our objective is to raise $7,000 in the next 30 days. How can you help?

* Become a member, e.g. individual, family, association, or corporation.
* Make an outright gift in cash, check, or credit card.
* Make a pledge of "x" dollars for "y" period of time, e.g. $100 a month for 3 months, $100 a quarter for four quarters.
* Introduce FLMSP to any decision makers within any benevolent organizations, foundations, clubs, etc.
* Publicize our appeal to all media outlets that you know of.
* Express your thanks directly to Alan Ferguson, Manager Little Miami State Park Alan.Ferguson@dnr.state.oh.us.

If you want to introduce any new people to our organization, please forward this e-mail to them and direct them to our web site www.FLMSP.org --- which will be THE place to get updated information as this project progresses. As for making a donation, simply go to www.FLMSP.org and make an online Mastercard or Visa donation.

We believe the cause is right. We've worked hard to make sure the price is right. And there's power in numbers --- if each of the 282 people on our email list gave just $25, we'd raise $7,050. We hope you agree and can find a way to help.

If our fundraising efforts are successful, we've been assured the work will be completed by the July 4th weekend.

Sincerely,

Steve Murphy
Vice President
Friends of the Little Miami State Park
vicepresident@flmsp.org