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Miami Valley Trails

Miami Valley Trails Construction Update

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Taking this opportunity for a late-Summer update about the Miami Valley Trails to make everyone aware of the many projects and detours going on along and above the trails. The detours and projects right now are all centered on Dayton in Montgomery County and also the Creekside and Iron Horse Trails in Dayton and Riverside. Here’s a rundown of the major projects:

Third Street Bridge Replacement. The Third Street Bridge, also known as the Peace Bridge, spans the Great Miami River and the Great Miami River Trail on both banks. During the project the Great Miami River Trail is closed. It is actually missing in sections – so don’t try it! During the project, expected to last until Fall of 2021, there is a posted detour using the bikelanes and shared lanes through Downtown Dayton. Please see our trail alert for this detour for a downloadable map of the detour routes. Believe it or not, this detour even has a detour as Jefferson Street is being rebuilt at this time as well. Use Wilkinson as a north-bound alternative.

Creekside and Iron Horse Trails in Riverside and Dayton.

 Five Rivers MetroParks has begun a monthlong project to re-hab these trails including crack sealing and tree root clearing. There will also be improvements made for safety at road crossings. The project will be done in sections, and detours are posted. See our alert on this project for downloadable maps of the suggested detours. Project work has begun as of August 17, 2020. The photo at the top is on the Iron Horse Trail at Linden Avenue.

Deeds Point Bridge. The bridge near RiverScape MetroPark across the Mad River to Deeds Point has been closed for over a year, but now the project work begins to replace it! The first stage will be the removal of the old bridge and that will result in closures needed from time to time on the Mad River Trail below the bridge. The current detour using the Webster Street Bridge will remain in place and signed (see the alert here). There will be a periodic need for a detour along Monument Avenue, and that detour is described and mapped at this alert. Please note, the detour along Monument Avenue has sections without sidewalks, and is not ideal for pedestrians.

These projects represent a significant investment in the long term maintenance of the Miami Valley Trails. They trade off current, temporary inconvenience for better safety and accessibility for many years to come.

All of the Miami Valley Trails alerts are posted on the Trail Information page on the Miami Valley Trails web site. Keep that link handy to check on future projects along other trails.

 

Miami Valley Bikeways Guide and Map Now Available

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2014 Map Cover_1The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) is pleased to announce the release of the Miami Valley Ohio Bikeways Guide Map – 2014 Edition. This fourth edition of this very popular map will be available from parks agencies, some local governments, and various local bike shops.  Download the 2014 Miami Valley Bikeways Map as a PDF document. You can order a 2014 Miami Valley Bikeways Map online. MVRPC will ship a paper copy of the map directly to you. Larger quantity requests are handled on a case-by-case basis, and filled only if quantities are available. To request more than one map, contact Kjirsten Frank, 937.223.6323.

“The 2014 map provides the most up-to-date information on the Miami Valley Trails, the nation’s largest network of paved, off-street trails. Over 95,000 copies of the map were printed this time. That’s the largest print run of the four editions,” stated Brian O. Martin, MVRPC’s Executive Director. “It’s a testament to its popularity. Our local partners, who distribute and help pay for the map, wanted more copies printed.”

New trails in this edition include the Dayton-Kettering Connector (Trail #19) and the extension of the Simon Kenton Trail (Trail #3) from Urbana to Bellefontaine.  As compared to the 2011 edition, the Great Miami Trail (Trail #25) in Miami County is now shown as a continuous route from Tipp City to Piqua. The map also details the detour routes in Downtown Dayton due to the years’ long project to reconstruct and modernize I-75. Buckeye Trail and North Country Scenic Trail routes are now shown and our popular mileage matrix includes more cities and towns to help trip or training planning.

The 2014 map has an exciting new feature. The new map highlights thirty-one (31) attractions found along the trails to give residents and visitors alike a better sense of what can be found along these beautiful greenways.  Trail users will notice museums, parks, historic sites, outdoor sports venues, as well as eight (8) National Aviation Heritage sites right along the trails.

“We are extremely grateful to our sponsors for helping offset the cost to print these maps. These sponsorships provide critical funding enabling the park districts, bike shops and local governments to provide the maps FREE-OF-CHARGE,” explained Martin.  Sponsors include “Presenting Sponsor” Cox Media Group (Ohio) and returning “Bronze Level Sponsor” Children’s Medical Center. New sponsors for the 2014 edition include: “Gold Level Sponsor” Dayton Power & Light and “Bronze Level Sponsors” Bike Miami Valley, the Dayton Cycling Club, Great Miami Outfitters, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Safe Kids Greater Dayton.