MANSFIELD — Bob Bianchi said Tuesday his vision is to one day connect the Richland B&O Trail to downtown Mansfield.
The City of Mansfield engineer told Richland County commissioners the next step is to connect the 18.4-mile bike trail to Trimble Road, a $1.75-million project for which funding is available from various sources.
His appearance before commissioners, joined by three City Council members, comes as city and county officials work on a partnership to help fund the effort.
“We’ve got some great momentum right now, moving forward to do the most difficult part. This vision that we’ve got is to connect a safe, separate bike trail, 10 feet wide, from the B&O Trail, to downtown Mansfield,” Bianchi said.
“This project is the most difficult to fund. That’s because it’s not within a street right-of-way. So some of our funding sources that we typically would use are not suitable and cannot be used for this project,” Bianchi said.
City Council is expected to reconsider legislation Aug. 16 that would provide $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project.
City lawmakers unanimously rejected a similar proposal Aug. 3, but said they were not told of the county’s partnership plans and the fact the state’s capital budget approved earlier this year included $150,000 earmarked for the connector.
County commissioners have said they are willing to contribute by waiving $500,000 the city pays to the county in jail fees. The county would then use its own ARPA revenue replacement dollars to cover that waiver cost.
The city could then use the $500,000 from its general fund budget that would not be spent on jail fees.
Bianchi, who first proposed the connector idea to City Council in 2018, said he believes $600,000 would be available through Richland County Regional Planning’s metropolitan planning organization funding.
“I have already spoken with Todd Blankenship at Richland County Regional Planning and it looks favorable that funds from the MPO can be used,” Bianchi said.
Mansfield Bike Trail Connection Project
He told commissioners the connector will intentionally “meander” through land owned by the Western Land Conservancy District and OhioHealth, connecting to Trimble near Akron Children’s Hospital.
“The meandering is on purpose to work with the topography as it is and minimize the steep climb,” Bianchi said, adding the conservancy organization and OhioHealth are in favor of the project.
He said he had met with representatives of the county park district, who are also in favor of the connector.
Bianchi said the plan for the connector will require minimal maintenance.
“The pavement that we are proposing to install will be substantial to last decades without resurfacing,” he said.
“We’re proposing a concrete bike path of six inches in depth of concrete, on top of 14 inches of what’s called cement-treated base. The base is the most important part for pavement.
“You make a solid base, a solid foundation (and) your pavement will last. This is the kind of work that we did on Cook Road and Trimble Road (sidewalks). You look at that pavement that’s been in the ground for five years … I don’t believe there’s a crack in it,” he said.
Bike Trail preliminary drawing
He said the plan also calls for a “boardwalk” in a section of the connector that passes through a wetlands area.
“That would be a boardwalk for a couple hundred feet and then it would connect to the concrete. We want to mitigate any impacts to wetlands there, and we would do so by installing a boardwalk with treated lumber materials that would last,” Bianchi said.
He told commissioners the city hopes to get a design/engineer contract in the next few months, a project that will take about 18 months, including easement acquisition. Construction would could then begin.
All three members of City Council at the meeting spoke in favor of the project, including council President David Falquette, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Cheryl Meier and 5th Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz.
Falquette, who only votes in the event of a council tie, said he “was set back on his heels a little bit” when local lawmakers spoke against the connector proposal.
“It just unfolded before me and I’m like the chairman … I just keep (the meeting) rolling and held my opinion. A lot of people are involved in the bike trail. There’s hundreds of people walking it, biking, it, running it all the time,” he said.
“I’m glad we are reconsidering it,” Falquette said.
Meier said she had gotten “a lot” of communication from residents in her ward and elsewhere in the city “showing tremendous support” for the project.
“I certainly will listen to my constituents and vote accordingly,” she said.
Diaz said the vote against the project was a lesson that council members “really need to do our homework when things come to City Council.”
“I wish there had been more discussions (before we voted). I didn’t realize all the work that was put into the project and all the people involved in it,” Diaz said.
Commissioner Cliff Mears, a former Mansfield City Council member, thanked Bianchi for his work, including maps. The engineer said about 45 percent of the trail would be in the city and 55 percent in the county.
“As always, your presentations are spot on, detailed, concise, comprehensive and easy to follow,” he said. “Thank you for putting all of that together. That’s magnificent.”
Commissioner Tony Vero said the board could not act until City Council formally approves its funding.
“We have to be a little creative here (but) we’re in. Great partnership,” Vero said.
