We do not know if those who built the first mile in Troy ever imagined building a trail to Piqua or to Tipp City. But we do know that short trail was the first of what is now over 330 miles of connected trail across the Miami Valley stitching communities together in what we now know as the Miami Valley Trails – The Nation’s Largest Paved Trail Network.
The Miami Valley Trails today offer safe non-motorized connections between communities from Piqua and Bellefontaine in the north to Middletown and Cincinnati in the south. They can bring residents and visitors alike into many of the Miami Valley’s most vibrant town centers. Beyond these transportation connections, the Miami Valley Trails offer another kind of connection: to nature. They are truly linear parks, following the paths of rivers, passing along rolling farmland, and through cool, shady forests. Not just for running and biking, bird watching and fishing are also popular pastimes on the Trails.
Regional cooperation is another tremendous legacy of the Trails. Over a dozen separate trail managing agencies – most of them park districts – manage separate sections of the Miami Valley Trails. Often these many agencies are able to speak with one voice, so the Miami Valley Trails experience is consistent over 10+ counties. A great example is the coordination on a policy regarding e-bikes. To prevent having different e-bike rules every time a trail user crosses a county line, these agencies agreed on a common policy (to allow Class 1 & 2 e-bikes) throughout the Miami Valley network.
The work and accomplishments of the last 50 years of trail building in the Miami Valley is truly something of which the whole region should be proud. We have created the Nation’s Largest Paved Trail Network, which enhances our quality of life, and contributes to the Region’s tourism economy as a destination amenity.
The Region should not rest on our laurels, however. There remains planning and projects to be done to continue the work to finish and expand the Miami Valley Trails. First, there remain gaps: in Trotwood, Butler Township, between Trenton and Hamilton, between Sidney and Piqua. And there are aging bridges to be upgraded in many locales, including two in Piqua. Looking longer term we can envision east-west connections, between the Little Miami Scenic Trail and the Great Miami River Trail across Warren County, Montgomery/Greene Counties, and Miami/Champaign Counties which will transform our hub-and-spoke system to a series of connected loops.
The historic foundation is strong, the Miami Valley Trails are wonderful, and the future potential is tremendous. The Region’s challenge now is to decide where we want the trails to be in another 50 years. You can rise to meet that challenge by becoming a member of Bike Miami Valley. Learn more on bikemiamivalley.org/membership.
Brian O. Martin, AICP, assumed the role of Executive Director for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission in 2013, leading a team of dedicated planning professionals who serve 90+ member communities in Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Northern Warren, Darke, Preble and Shelby Counties with expertise to ensure livable and equitable communities; clean air and water; robust roadway, transit, and active transportation options; and strategic community plans that shape our region’s future.
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