Continued opposition to a hike-and-bike trail connection in Mantua Township may mean no connection at all. In short, residents and elected officials aren’t on board.
At issue is the Portage Park District’s plan to connect Headwaters Trail ends at Mennonite and Diagonal roads. The ideal way to connect the trail would be along the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad bed that...
Read moreI live on Pioneer Trail but not on the section affected by the proposed Trail.
I can understand the residents not wanting this in their front yard. I don’t think I would want it cutting into my front yard either. However, I can also understand wanting to continue the Trail. I would love to be able to walk or ride my bike into Aurora or Garrettsville. Eventually the Aurora path will meet up with the Chagrin/Solon path.
I wonder if there is some compromise available, like buying property behind the houses on the North side of Pioneer Trail, where there are already fewer houses and more farmland. Maybe angling the path to go behind those houses and coming through somewhere closer to the corner of Pioneer Trail and Mantua Center Road, before continuing down the west side of Mantua Center Road to the new Mennonite Trailhead?
Another possibility; Does it have to be so wide that it infringes on front yards? Does it need to be 12-18 feet wide as I had read? Can it be a “bike-path width” like other cities with busier roads have? Maybe a 5-foot berm with a guard rail to protect walkers, riders, strollers and dogs?