B&O Bike Trail to Trimble Road: Local officials hike the proposed connecting path

MANSFIELD — An idea that became a concept that became a design began to look more like a reality on Tuesday.

That’s when City of Mansfield and Richland County officials joined representatives from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy District, engineers from K. E. McCartney & Associates and the Richland County Park District to explore the path that will become a connector between the B&O Bike Trail and Trimble Road.

“We have the funding. We are excited about this project,” city engineer Bob Bianchi told the group that gathered in the conservancy district’s small asphalt parking lot south of Marion Avenue.

The group, which included county Commissioner Cliff Mears and City Council President David Falquette, then took to the woods, following a path being designed by McCartney & Associates, which was awarded a $201,932 contract in September to design the $1.6 million connector.

When completed, the connector will be a 1.25-mile, 10-foot wide, multi-use path to the 18.4-mile bike trail that runs from Mansfield to Butler.

The design project includes surveying, design, environmental and right-of-way services for the connector.

Bianchi has said the connector will intentionally “meander” through land owned by the Western Land Conservancy District and OhioHealth, connecting to Trimble near Akron Children’s Hospital.

Though it was a cool, damp October morning, it was not hard to imagine a sunny, summer day a few years from now when the connector could be in full use.

B&O Bike Trail Connection Project

WHAT: The project will construct a 10-foot wide, 1.13-mile long bike trail, connecting the existing B&O Trail to the recently connected Trimble Road Trail.

WHERE: The western end of the trail will connect to the B&O Trail approximately 250 feet south of the Marion Avenue and B&O Trail intersection. The eastern end of will connect to the Trimble Road at the Raemelton Boulevard intersection adjacent to the Akron Children’s Clinic.

EASEMENTS: The proposed trail will meander through the Western Land Conservancy and property owned by OhioHealth. Both entities have expressed support for the project and will enter into an agreement to allow the city to construct the trail on their property.

LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE: The trail will be constructed with concrete instead of asphalt, giving it a much-longer life. The city anticipates entering into an agreement with the Richland County Park District for any ongoing maintenance of the trail.

COSTS AND FUNDING: Total project cost is $1,750,000, including design engineering. Proposed funding is $500,000 in City of Mansfield ARPA funds; $500,000 from Richland County ARPA funds; $150,000 in state capital funds; and $600,000 through Richland County Regional Planning.

PROJECT TIMELINE: City Council authorization in August 2022; design engineering from September 2022 to October 2024; construction from January 2025 to August 2025.

Bianchi said it could take almost two more years for the design and property acquisition portion of the project. 

“The idea today was to get interested parties to see very clearly where the trail is proposed to be located. We want to nail down the trail alignment before we get knee-deep into design. If we have to change (the alignment) further down the road, it would create a lot of additional work,” Bianchi said.

“We wanted their expertise on what they might see that we don’t see,” he said. “I think everyone was pleased with the direction we are headed.”

Chris Szell, director of conservation project management for Western Reserve, said the district met with Bianchi two years ago to walk the general path taken Tuesday.

“We had always envisioned it would become a community asset in this way,” Szell said Tuesday. “We didn’t know what long-term plans would be for the property in terms of how the community wanted to use it.”

Szell identified two five-acre areas near the connector that could be used for “more active” participation, including a potential ballfield in one area and a pavilion and picnic tables in another.

“We are happy to be partnering with the city and I am certain the Richland County Park District will be involved,” Szell said.

According to its website, the conservancy district’s mission is “to provide the people of our region with essential natural assets through land conservation and restoration.”

Mansfield Bike Trail Connection Project

After hiking through the still-overgrown area, Falquette said he has been excited about the project since it was proposed.

“I may be a little more excited about it now having walked it,” he said. “It’s clearer to see when you actually walk it.

“It makes good sense. I think people would like to have more park areas, places where they can have a picnic … a pavilion,” Falquette said.

“A large section of Mansfield will have safer walking and biking access to the bike trail,” he said. “The terrain will add a nice challenge, compared to the rather flat bike trail.”

Mears pointed out the “nature immersive” feel the connector will likely offer.

“The majority of the bike trail splits a narrow band of ‘nature,’ but the connector runs through a much wide area of woods. After walking the area, you get a sense of being quickly immersed in what feels like the backwoods but very much in a metropolitan area,” Mears said.

He said it was exciting to to know how many more local residents will be connected to the bike trail, both in the city and around the county.

“I really feel a pedestrian or a cyclist on the trail is much safer than being on the street,” he said. “I think people who spend a lot of time in front of the television or computer or playing video games will really find this a refreshingly health change of lifestyle.”

The project will have a variety of funding sources, including $500,000 from the City of Mansfield though its American Rescue Plan Act funds, $500,000 from Richland County commissioners, $150,000 from the state’s capital budget and $600,000 from the Richland County Regional Planning Commission.

Another smaller portion of the design work, about $26,000, could be paid from city sewer funds since they involve water drainage and culvert work.