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THE ALUM CREEK GREENWAY TRAIL | NORTH: NEXT SECTION | SOUTH: NEXT SECTION | 
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This is the final remaining large section of the Alum Creek Trail and it covers the proposed route from the current north dead-end at the southern end of the soccer fields near Easton to the current south dead-end at the underpass of Airport Rd opposite Ohio Dominican University.
The completion of this section and, of the Alum Creek Trail from Westerville to Three Creeks is on the CRPD priority list. It appears that the section will be built in two parts. The segment from Airport Rd north to Innis Park, the longer of the two, and then the section from Easton to Innis Park.
The configuration shown below is taken from the MORPC Greenways map and may be different from what will eventually be built. The target completion as per the last Trail Forum meeting was 2008. The course shown travels along the greenway except for the section between Innis and Agler where the trail bypasses a golf course. Brad Westall spoke to this at the Forum discussing the issues such as netting which is necessary to safeguard trail users from errant golf shots. The trail route shown also essentially bypasses Mock Park trails in favor of paralleling Sunbury Rd (though it appears that there would be connection possibilities at the north and south ends of the park.
 | The aerial map below is based on the route as outlines on the Greater Columbus Green Map. It is an approximation. The routing is correct but the exact placement may vary. The maps was made from aerial photography 1-3 years old. The file below is reduced in size to facilitate page loading. The full size file can be downloaded by clicking on the thumbnail to the left. The image to the right is an earlier version using a lower res photo set from 2002-3. The full size file is fairly large. |  |
INNIS PARKI am assuming that the trail will cross the Alum Creek somewhere between the Soccer Fields and Innis Park. (The golf course on the west side of the river is administered by the Parks Department) Once in the park, I think the trail might hook up with an old road (see pictures) in the north end of the park (an abandoned drive) and follow one of the two north-south in-park trails to the exit of the park and, based on the Paving The Way website, along Innis Rd to the intersection. From there, I would presume, the trail will go south either on the east or west side of the creek.
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A few pictures from Innis Park. The first is an old road which runs north from the lower park. (To an abandoned derelict house). The second is an intersection of the two trails in the park. The third is typical trail as is the fourth as it approaches the main parking and recreation area. The ramp up to Innis Rd is just visible in the center right. Another trail, this one closer to the river and the last picture is on the river. I have to say that the views of the Alum Creek in Innis Park are lovely.
Not sure what the routing plans are but they will undoubtedly involve Mock Park. Most of the park to the north is undeveloped and there are only a few short paved walkways in the southern part of the park. The creek actually run under Sunbury Rd right at the intersection. The two right pictures show the proximity of the creek to the roadway.
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A picturesque campus on a rolling section of land. The creek cuts along one corner before tuning south. The first few pictures show the undeveloped area behind the baseball field where the creek runs along the campus. The last two pictures are the creek exiting the campus and flowing under Airport Rd. In the very bottom right corner of the last pictures is the future connector dead-end from the I-670 trail. (The trail can be accessed via a trail-head on the other side of Airport Rd a few yards from where this was taken.)
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The recent renovation of Stelzer Rd has created a fairly easy to use detour that only adds about 7/10th of a mile to the distance between the trail at Easton Way and Fifth Avenue at I - 670. More information below.
BRIDGING THE GAP ON THE ALUM CREEK TRAIL
06/23/2008
