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Construction Updates
Bike & Hike | Nature Realm | Freedom Secondary
Liberty Park | Towpath Trail
Updated April 15, 2009. For more information, call the administrative offices at 330-867-5511, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Bike & Hike Trail: Brandywine Road bypass
Planning continues for this one-mile re-route of the Bike & Hike Trail. When completed, the scenic Brandywine Falls will be an attraction on this section of trail. Two substantial milestones were achieved in 2008. First, the environmental assessment was completed and approved by the National Park Service. Second, an agreement was executed between Metro Parks and Cuyahoga Valley National Park, clearing the way for engineering and construction. Engineering may be complete in 2009 and construction may begin in 2010.
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F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm
The visitors center closed December 1, 2008 and will reopen in late 2009, as improvements to the underground building are being made to accommodate new displays created by Split Rock Studios, a museum company based in Minnesota. The grounds will close before the end of April 2009. Outside, plans call for resurfacing the parking lot, constructing a new wheelchair-accessible walkway from the lot to the building, and adding a fireplace and deck on the back of the building for programs and wildlife watching.
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Freedom Secondary Trail
Starting at the Portage Hike and Bike Trail in Kent, this proposed multi-purpose trail – on land owned by Metro Regional Transit Authority – will follow an unused railroad corridor, connect to the Tallmadge Trail and continue west to the Towpath Trail via a linkage at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s Northside Station in downtown Akron. Another section may link to the 33.5-mile Bike & Hike Trail in Munroe Falls. A feasibility study was started in 2008; engineering may take place in 2009 and construction in 2010.
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Liberty Park Nature Center
In 2008 the resource management, naturalist and planning departments began preliminary planning for a proposed nature center at Liberty Park, along with a hiking trail that will provide views of the scenic sandstone ledges and marshland. Trail construction will begin in 2009 and be funded with help from a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
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Towpath Trail: Various sections
The Cascade Locks Phase II section is open, leading from the Mustill Store to downtown Akron (pictured at right). Work on the section from Summit Lake to Waterloo Road will be completed in 2009. From Manchester Road to US 224 the trail is essentially complete. The PPG stretch between Vanderhoof and Eastern roads was completed in August 2008. Currently, the park district manages 18 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. When construction is complete, that number will increase to 23 miles.
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