Improvements to Sand Run Parkway’s East End extends Jogging Trail, offers trail connections and restores habitat for wildlife
Visitors can now enjoy the East End, a stretch of roadway that Summit Metro Parks converted into an extension of the park district’s most popular trail. Located in Sand Run Metro Park, the East End (section of Sand Run Parkway between Portage Path and Merriman Rd.) was permanently closed to vehicles in spring 2022 to protect wildlife and allow for future trail connections.
The East End project is the most recent phase of the efforts to restore and protect Sand Run Metro Park. Improvements include protection of natural resources and infrastructure improvements, which included removal of a culvert, placement of a pedestrian bridge, narrowing the road to trail width and removal of roadway elements. The new extension of the Jogging Trail will connect users to the Valley Link and Towpath trails near Big Bend (the Towpath Trail is accessible from Valley Link Trail).
The project removed about half of the existing pavement (decreasing impervious surface), daylighted a significant headwater stream, enhanced wetland habitats and created breeding pools for spotted salamanders and other amphibians.
Project funding included a $175,000 Clean Ohio Funding grant from Ohio Public Works Commission and a $7,500 Summit County Community Grant.
The East End (the portion of Sand Run Parkway between Portage Path and Merriman Rd.) was first closed to traffic in 2019 due to an aging culvert that could no longer safely support the weight of vehicles. The Summit Metro Parks Board of Park Commissioners approved the East End’s permanent closure to vehicles at its April 12, 2022 meeting.