WEST CHESTER TWP. — A $61,500 grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation will help pay for a feasibility study for a bike trail to connect other trails along the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers.

        The cities of Hamilton and Fairfield in Butler County, and Mason in Warren County, along with Warren County's Deerfield Township and Butler County's Liberty and West Chester townships, each have contributed $10,000 to the study.

        “The financial contributions ... are evidence of the widespread support for this system of bike paths and trails,” said Bill Zerkle, chairman of a community coalition supporting the trails and West Chester Township's director of parks and recreation.

        Called the “Miami-2-Miami Connector”, the proposal is to create a series of bike paths and lanes that cross community boundaries to provide a significant transportation alternative and recreational opportunity for area residents.

        The feasibility study is expected to be finished by July, after which each community is expected to work collaboratively, but independently develop their own parts of the trail.

        Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon Inc., a consulting engineer and design firm that has an office in Dayton, has been retained by the coalition to conduct the study, and work has started. The study will consider the proposed route, obstacles, construction costs and marketing of the trail.

        “We will be looking at all aspects of the proposed routes to determine their feasibility based on topography, cost and safety,” said Lynn Cane, spokesman for the consultants. Mr. Cane noted the trails will not only provide for a transportation alternative, “but an opportunity to elevate the quality of living for residents.”

        Mr. Zerkle said consultants have had meetings with community representatives. Among considerations in developing the trail will be the location of schools and businesses to create not only a recreational trail but a functional trail that can be used to travel to or from commercial areas or schools.

        The project is being administered by the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments. Besides the communities mentioned, other partners in the project include Butler County MetroParks, the Canal Society of Ohio, the Butler County Canal Coalition, the Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Union Township Historical Society and the Isaac Walton League.

        “The (existing) Greater Miami bike path is such a vital part of our community that we look forward to the opportunity to link up with other bike paths throughout the region” including the Miami-2-Miami, said Bill Phelps, Hamilton's parks and recreation director.

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