Council hears preliminary plan for Canalway trail connection; $50,000 design engineering discussed with $15,000 grant available

City officials and council members discussed a preliminary request on June 15 from the Ohio & Erie Canalway advocates to design a multi-phase trail connection that would tie the towpath to Portage Lakes State Park. The project’s preliminary engineering cost for the studied segment was estimated at $50,000, of which the Canalway coalition has a $15,000 grant; the coalition has asked the city to consider committing $35,000 toward design and engineering work.

Councilmember (and meeting lead) summarized contacts with Dan Rice of the Canalway coalition and said Rice and project partners would be invited to present to council at the second meeting in November. The presentation, the mayor said during the meeting, would cover design options, phasing and potential federal funding sources being directed to Canalway projects. The proposed alignment would require a new trail bridge in places where the historic towpath alignment could not be used, and staff described the design work as something that would proceed in phases.

Council members asked for more information and suggested staff invite the coalition to formally present the rationale, phasing and estimated costs. The coalition requested a decision by the end of the year on whether the city will accept the local match to secure the $15,000 grant and proceed with phase design.

No commitment was made at the June 15 meeting; council agreed to hear the Canalway representatives in November and to consider whether to include the match in future budget decisions.