LEXINGTON — The 18-mile B&O Bike Trail now has a central maintenance facility behind Lexington Community Church.
The new 40-by-30 foot maintenance facility, which hosted a ribbon cutting Aug. 23, can now house multiple mowers and large equipment for volunteers to access in a more convenient location than the space storage sheds that Gorman Nature Center previously provided.
When volunteers wanted to mow and manage the trail before the maintenance facility opened, they had to pick up equipment and return it to the storage sheds that Richland County Park District made available, according to Director Jason Larson.
“We talked about a facility for a long time because we’ve never really had a central location to put all of our equipment,” Larson said. “Whenever we’d want a big piece of equipment like a tractor or a big mower, we’d have to go to Gorman and drive it all the way out.”
In addition to helping with general maintenance of the trail itself, volunteer and former B&O Trail Manager Mike Solon said some volunteers laid down gravel and helped build the maintenance facility.
“The first time that I came down and walked in the building to actually see it go from paper to the real thing was astounding,” he said. “This is really going to help springboard us into keeping the trail open and accessible.”
Larry Smith, B&O Bike Trail manager, said the maintenance facility will help volunteers attend to issues like fallen trees and leaves quicker than they could when equipment was stored in multiple spaces.
Smith said he has received questions for how to volunteer from cyclists and runners who visit the trail after they see others cleaning up debris. Though the maintenance facility is a goal the park district has been working toward for more than two years, Smith said there is still work to do.
“This fall, we’re going to start putting in a native prairie here and pollinator garden,” he said. “It takes three years for that to fully mature.”
Smith said the pollinator garden will be located in the one-third acre space between the maintenance facility and new pavilion, which Tuesday’s ribbon cutting also celebrated. The 30-by-20-foot pavilion of four picnic tables and two benches was created for trail visitors to rest or birdwatch by the nearby ponds.
Richland County Foundation also donated and installed a bike rack close to the pavilion. Former park district board member Ray Piar led the donation effort to raise funds for the project.
“Beyond the obvious need the bike trail and the park district had, the inspiration and motivation came from the (Richland County) Foundation and all their donors,” Piar said. “Things they’ve accomplished can be boiled down into one sentence — someone trying to improve our community. That’s what we wanted to do.”
Larson thanked Piar and all of the park district’s volunteers who contributed to the new additions and said he hopes the district’s future developments attract new visitors and volunteers.
