I work in the vicinity of Steltzer Rd and have been watching the rebuilding of that roadway south of Easton for the past year. The renovation is about finished and that is good because it now offers an easy way to detour from one section of the Alum Creek Trail to the other--until the CRPD connects them with dedicated trail. I rode it this morning and it is a fairly simple and easy connection. below is an aerial map and I am going to post pictures but, in the short term it involves the following:
The Northern Section of the trail runs from Polaris Parkway at Cleveland Avenue to a dead end south of Morse Rd in a Soccer Park adjacent to the Easton Shopping Area. The Southern Section starts at Milepost 0.0 at the Confluence Area parking lot in Three Creeks Metropark and runs north to a trailhead--dead end at Airport Rd just across from Ohio Dominican University a few blocks from Sunbury and Nelson Rds. There are plans in place to connect these two sections over the next few years. Much of the right of way has been obtained and the engineering is in work. Construction is scheduled to start some time in 2008.
To get from one section to the other has been problematic. The distance is about 5 1/2 miles but the easiest connection, Sunbury Rd, is not really suitable for cyclists--the roadway is narrow and crowded with ups and downs, blind curves, little or no shoulder and poor surface in many spots. The main arteries to the west, Westerville Rd and Cleveland Ave are both major thoroughfares with fast traffic and a large truck component. To the east, Stelzer Rd was available but, again, it was a fairly narrow road with a poor shoulder. That has changed recently. The road was widened to two lanes, sidewalks were added and the surface was repaved. It is now possible to use this road to bridge the gap with an addition of only 0.7 miles making the total 6.2 miles.
Aerial map - :
FROM THE NORTH: Exit the Alum Creek Trail at the Easton Way light. Proceed through the gate across Sunbury Rd and onto Easton Way. There is a short hill but the roadway has sidewalks on both sides for slower traffic. At the top of the rise, turn right onto Morse Crossing. (You can proceed ahead to Stelzer Rd directly but that intersection is fairly busy with a nearby freeway on and off ramp. It is safer to turn onto Morse Crossing and circle around to the south side of Easton where the intersection with Stelzer is less busy. At Stelzer turn right (south.) The road is arrow straight with a good pavement surface and wide lanes. Continue to the intersection with Johnstown Rd. (Angle intersection) and bear right. Johnstown is a two-lane road, less trafficked, with a fair surface. Go about a 1.2 miles to the intersection with N Cassady. Turn left onto that road and proceed about 0.7 miles to the intersection with Fifth Avenue. Turn right on Fifth Avenue and go another 0.4 miles to the intersection with I-670. The trail crosses Fifth Avenue just west of the intersection. You can get into the turn lane and turn into the trail head going south. If traffic is very heavy or if you are not inclined to make in-road left turns, proceed to the trail head on the north side and use the cross walk to go south.
FROM THE SOUTH: Exit the trail onto Fifth Avenue going East (right). Proceed up Fifth (uphill) to N Cassady. Turn left onto N Cassady and go 0.7 miles to the intersection with Johnstown Rd. Bear right onto Johnstown and continue on that road about 1.2 miles to the intersection with Stelzer. Turn left onto Stelzer. Continue on Stelzer 3.8 miles to the intersection with Morse Crossing. (Sometimes called Morse Xing). Turn left onto that road and follow it around to Easton Way. Go left on Easton way (downhill) to Sunbury Rd, cross to the Soccer Park gate and reenter the trail there.