The City of Dayton held a public meeting on Aug. 13 to inform the community about the plans and options for the replacement of the Helena Street Bridge. Approximately 100 people were attendance at this meeting exhibiting the importance of this bridge to the neighborhood and those who live and play in the area.
The bridge in question stretches across the Great Miami River just south of the Stillwater River and connects Riverdale to Island MetroPark and the McCook Field area. This area has been home to water recreation for over 100 years, providing a perfect smooth water environment that is ideal for canoeing, kayaking and rowing.
The historic Dayton Canoe Club built here over 100 years ago and since 1992 the Greater Dayton Rowing Association (GDRA) has called this area home with a boathouse and docks. These two organizations hold various river regattas every year in this location. The largest of these events is the Charlie Doyle Memorial Regatta that brings a thousand athletes and nearly four thousand spectators to the Island at one of the Midwest’s favorite rowing venues.
GDRA president Jim Wall states that “the rowing club is on the river from April through November with rowers on the water from 5:30 in the morning until 8 at night. We are very active here and pass underneath the Helena Street Bridge approximately 10,000 times a year. We have a real stake in the infrastructure and future of this river and how it will affect the community.”
In the 20-plus years that the club has been located here, GDRA has provided convenient access and instruction for the sport of rowing to thousands of community members.
The concern comes from the selection, by a Columbus design firm, of a three arch bridge design as their “Recommended Design”. This seriously concerns the GDRA, as a three-arch design restricts the clear, safe passage of boats under the bridge. “This puts a real bottleneck in the traffic flow under the bridge” states Doug Barker, GDRA Vice President and Facilities Manager. “Visualize the river as a road with traffic in both directions, boats go upstream on the right hand side of the river and downstream on the other. A three arch design plants two concrete piers out in the river, forcing boats to play dodge-em under the bridge.
There was, however, another option presented as “Alternative Design No. 1” that would be ideal for current rowing traffic and provides room to grow programming and the volume of water traffic going into the future. This two-arch design provides two wide arches with only one concrete pier in the middle of the river, like a center divider. This design would safely handle two-way traffic. Each of the two arches would be wide enough for 3 rowing shells to go under the bridge row side by side, which is a frequent requirement during organized practices and competitions.
We are calling on supportive community members to help us voice this concern. If you would like to support our position please provide your comments to Keith Steeber, City of Dayton at keith.seeber@daytonohio.gov
Many of us call this area and little stretch of river our home. We want to make sure it continues to provide an ideal location for recreational water activities for the next 100 years. — JON DAUGHERTY, Director of Strategic Development, Greater Dayton Rowing Association
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