Council amends trail plan alignment near McDonald Road to move trail away from roadway and through Bristol Valley

The Heath City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the 2018 Parks, Recreation and Trails Master Plan to realign a segment of the McDonald Road trail. Under the approved change, the city will remove 969 feet of planned 10-foot trail immediately adjacent to McDonald Road and instead build 1,156 feet of 10-foot trail routed within the Bristol Valley subdivisions; the realignment includes a semicircular bench area and a box-culvert crossing where the trail crosses a creek in the floodplain.

City staff and the developer described the realignment as a response to topography and future roadway expansion possibilities along McDonald Road. Developer Michael Joyce said the city previously installed a future drainage system and that the new alignment provides a more resilient crossing with engineered multiple box culverts. "We installed box culvert there in order to prevent there from being just a huge drainage swell along the front," Joyce said, adding that the crossing would be engineered with riprap and flowable fill to prevent erosion.

Council members asked about hydrology and long-term resilience; Joyce said the crossing would have a 10-foot trail with five feet of green space on each side (a 20-foot crossing) and that hydrologic and flood-study materials will be submitted to city engineers for final review. The council approved the amendment so the trail master plan will match the proposed built alignment and to allow the project to move forward with engineering and construction contracting.

Next steps: Developer will finalize engineering for the culvert crossing, submit hydrology and erosion-control plans to city engineers, and proceed with easement acquisition and construction sequencing following the council’s approval.