Old train tracks are finding new life as the Beltway in Hamilton
In a time of the world where more and more conveniences in transportation are affecting the way we travel, several cities around the nation have seen the benefits of a recreational trail around their towns. Hamilton has already added onto their network of recreational trails and plans on adding more in the coming years.
The Hamilton Beltline Trail completed phase one in 2021. The trail, which is a bike trail proposed from the beltline train line that serviced the paper mills on the river in years passed, started and completed work on the first of several phases last year.
“We did phase one from Eaton Avenue to Cleveland Avenue. It’s kind of in the middle of the overall beltline,” said Allen Messer, assistant director of engineering for the City. “We received a grant for $500,000 for ODNR, clean Ohio trails towards that, and another grant for $59,426 from ODNR NatureWorks. The net was off the overall roughly $760,000 project. And so that phase is complete.”
Phase one was completed through the woods in between Cleveland and Eaton Avenue. It was the middle bracket of the beltline. The proposed trail runs from Millville Avenue, looping around the west side to the river, running into Spooky Nook.
“The reason it’s phased in waves is that when we started applying for grants, Spooky Nook wasn’t fully developed,” said Messer. “We will be going out to bid soon for phase two, which will be from Cleveland Avenue down to North B Street.”
The second phase plans to be finished by mid-summer. From that point, the point of focus will be finishing the line from B Street along the river and through the new development with Spooky Nook.
Construction for phase three will begin in 2023.
“Phase two will connect the current trail to the river,” said Messer. “Phase three will run along the river from Black Street Bridge to Main Street Bridge.”
Future phases haven’t been fully formulated but it is possible that the trail running from west Eaton to Millville could be constructed at the same time as phase three, it just depends on funding.
“It could be constructed simultaneously with phase three because the timing for the grants is different. It’s a little more lengthy review process for the TA grant than it is for the state capitals,” said Messer. “If we get the state capital grant those would both be under construction in 2023.”
With the trail reaching to Main Street Bridge, it will essentially connect the west side of Hamilton with the Great Miami River Trail. The GMRT is a connection of trails running alongside the River in hopes of connecting all the communities of the Great Miami River. Several of the larger cities on the river have already completed their sections of the proposed trail (Hamilton and Middletown of note, locally). Now with the gaps getting filled, there will be an opportunity to have an economic impact on the City of Hamilton.
“Completing the trail system could increase tourism for us,” said Liz Hayden, director of planning for the City. “The more people that use the trail, the more likely they’ll stop in Hamilton either for the night or at least for lunch.”
It’s not an unfamiliar sight to see a group of bikers stop at one of the breweries along the river or the many places to eat.
Local communities have come together to help finish the trail, most notably in Lemon Township so that more cities connect. Thirteen different communities and organizations have collectively raised money to complete the 1.6-mile gap in Lemon Township. Portions of the GMRT go as far north as Sidney and as far south as Cincinnati.
“This can connect our residents to other places,” said Hayden. “Our residents can get on the trail and bike up to Middletown or bike down to Cincinnati. That’s a great amenity for our residents.”
This story is a part of a collaboration between the Hamiltonian and City of Hamilton for their 2022 annual report. You can view the whole issue of this report here: https://issuu.com/1pridepub/docs/city_of_hamilton_annual_report_2022_9a17dd50f62e00