Ross County Park District Bike Path Update

Presented By Hometown-Motors, Inc.

Joe Letsche of the Ross County Park District took to his Facebook page to present a maintenance update on the county’s bike path that stretches between Chillicothe and the Ross/Fayette County line.

Here is Letsche’s full Facebook post, with details of upcoming maintenance plans:

“Just like with any initiative, project, or ‘thing’, there are lots of rumors and misinformation floating around about the bike path. This is understandable and it’s just the nature of the beast…but please allow me to try and clear up a few things in the spirit of minimizing the misunderstandings.”

*1.) The bike path between Chillicothe and Washington CH is owned and maintained by three separate entities. The City of Chillicothe has ownership and maintenance responsibility of approximately 3 miles within the city limits. The Ross County Park District owns approximately 22 miles, from the city corporation limit out to the Fayette County line. (Similarly, the Ross County Park District does not own nor maintain Yoctangee Park, nor any park within the city limits). The remaining 7 miles in Fayette County are owned by the Triangle Trail Association (a non-profit volunteer group).

*2.) The recently awarded grant money ($150,000) that will help construct the new half-mile segment into the Coppel Athletic Complex cannot be used for upgrade or maintenance of the existing bike path or for any other project. It can only be used for the construction of new bike path. Grant money for bike path maintenance and upkeep is extremely difficult to come by. (We look under every rock for funding, and we’ve recently applied for a $1.2 million capital grant from the State of Ohio to help with maintenance. Fingers crossed!) 

*3.) The maintenance challenges on the Park District’s 22 mile stretch are complex and extremely expensive. The Park District Board of Commissioners have recently initiated a comprehensive maintenance assessment that will help shape a strategic plan for the bike path over the next 20 years. I am currently seeking cost estimates from engineers and contractors for such things as bridges, asphalt, vegetation control, signage, etc to help provide a financial snapshot of what lies ahead. We’ve recently also deployed people counters at several locations along the trail and the first batch of numbers are in.

“For the period of March 18th – April 10th, the bike path bridge over High Street saw an average of 61 users per day. The Frankfort park area saw 25 users per day. The Ross/Fayette County line saw 1 user per day. These examples demonstrate what you might expect…that the highest bike path use is closer to the city and the lowest use is closer to the Ross/Fayette County line. We’ll use this data, along with cost estimates and other information, to build the strategic plan. Our goal is to have a plan in place by this summer.”

“I’m always happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability. I’m a staunch believer in transparency!”