News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area
Without fear or favor
Since 2004
Loveland, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio State Parks just announced that the new Loveland Bike Trail bridge over O’Bannon Creek in Historic Downtown Loveland will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, May 22 at 11:30 AM.
The trail and bridge has been open to the public since May 2.
The public is invited. The bridge is adjacent to Loveland’s Nisbet Park.
Loveland, Ohio – The bridge replacement on the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Historic Downtown Loveland is on track to be completed in May. The new, pre-fabricated bridge will arrive in three sections.
To accommodate this, the northern portion of Railroad Avenue from Harrison Avenue will be temporarily closed Monday March 4 through Tuesday March 5. The southern portion of Railroad Avenue will remain open to access area businesses. City Hall is encouraging you to park on the other side of town at the Linda Cox Trailside Parking Lot.
The Friends of The Little Miami State Park said on their FaceBook page yesterday, “The trail reconstruction and underpass at Grandin Rd.(Cartridge Factory) is now complete, and the trail is open to users! However, trail access at Grandin is still under construction, so don’t plan on parking there quite yet. Enjoy the new safer, wider trail!”
The trail remains dissected in Historic Downtown Loveland while a new bridge over O’Bannon Creeks is under construction.
News from the Warren County Engineer’s Office:
King Avenue and Grandin Road, between Miami Street and Striker Road are now open to through traffic. Construction of the $22,000,000 King Avenue Bridge Project is now complete.
The new two span bridge has a total length of 520 feet and carries two wider lanes of traffic and a shared‐use path for pedestrians and bicyclists across the Little Miami State and National Scenic River.
A new precast arch bridge, adjacent to the river bridge, now spans over the Little Miami Scenic Trail, eliminating the previous dangerous at‐grade road and trail crossing. The shared‐use path on the bridge and the Little Miami Scenic Trail are now open as well.
Other improvements associated with the project include a new parking lot for the trail, roundabout at the intersection of the trail parking lot and the Peters Cartridge Factory development, and improved geometry of roadway approaches to the bridge.
The new bridge and roadway is now open to traffic, however flagging operations are expected during the daytime hours of 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, as needed to complete punch list items over the winter and into spring of 2024.
The bridge and roadway project was constructed by the Eagle Bridge Co. of Sidney, Ohio. Stantec Consulting Services designed the project out of their Cincinnati office and Prime AE Group, out of their Cincinnati office, performed construction inspection for the project. A special thanks to everyone involved with the project from the beginning of design to final construction. The cooperation of the general traveling public, the Peters Cartridge Factory Apartments, and Cartridge Brewing during the construction of this two year project was greatly appreciated.
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Angels by the Trail will become a permanent, brightly painted memorial wall space that forever “Celebrates Loveland’s school-aged children whose lives were cut short.”
I interviewed muralist, David Uy as he was putting away his paint and coming off a rented SkyJack on Monday. The colorful 65′ X 20′ memorial will be facing the bike trail and the Little Miami River near the Linda Cox parking lot on Karl Brown Way in Historic downtown Loveland. It is being painted on a previously bare industrial wall of the Eads Fence Company.
David said he is painting Guardian Angels or Guardian Loveland Tigers by the Loveland Bike Trail.
Stacey Lund, a Loveland resident and parent is leading the project. She said, “I am a Loveland resident, parent, and neighbor. I, like many here, am passionate about giving back to this terrific community of ours for all that it has given to me and my family.”
As a way of giving back, a group of Lund’s friends are in the process of creating a special mural that is named, “Angels by the Trail”. Lund added, “The bright joyful mural will be created in celebration of the memory of school–aged children, ages 3-23 who lived in the Loveland community that have passed away much too soon.”
She gives special thanks to Dale Eads of Eads Hardware and Fence for generously allowing them to use one of their large, trail-facing walls for the project.
On the GoFundMe page created for the project, Lund said, “Our hope is that the conversion of this plain industrial wall into the “Angels by the Trail” installation will bring joy to the families of these children and those who love them and will give our community another beautiful, bright and cheerful landmark and backdrop within our special home of Loveland.”
David Jonathan Creative
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – The O’Bannon Creek Bridge in Historic Downtown on the Loveland Bike Trail (Little Miami Scenic Trail) will be temporarily closed starting March 6th. Little Miami State Park, the division of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that oversees the trail said that the bridge is nearing the end of its life expectancy and that they are “proactively replacing it before it becomes unsafe”.
It will open again at the end of March and then close from May to October. There is no designated detour, however, local trail users will know that heading east on West Loveland Avenue and leaving Historic Downtown by heading north on State Route 48, then turning left onto Lyon Avenue will quickly take users to the other side of the closed bridge. From Lyon Avenue take either fork in the road to get back on the trail.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We have received a message from one of our faithful readers who lives on Maple avenue and she would rather not see people use the street as a detour. She said, “My street isn’t a proper workaround. Maple is a narrow, short dead-end street that doesn’t connect through to the trail, as depicted on the Google map. Our little neighborhood has several families with young children and would appreciate not having all the trail traffic directed our way. If trail users just stay on Lyon (which has just one house and no kids), they will quickly come to its intersection.”
Loveland, Ohio – The city has been awarded a grant to install an automated traffic signal system at the Loveland Bike Trail crossing at West Loveland Avenue. To create the new system, two types of signals will be installed — traditional overhead traffic light signals for vehicles and a traffic light signal for trail users. According to a release issued by City Hall, the system will deliver automatic traffic control and establish the right of way.
Currently, the Trail and West Loveland Avenue crossing has a pedestrian-activated flashing crosswalk system.
The new system will be coordinated with the “smart” traffic signals already installed at West Loveland Avenue/State Route 48, Second Street/Broadway Street, and West Loveland Avenue/Karl Brown Way intersections. The traffic lights will be able to “talk” to each other through radar vehicular detection, activating a new overhead signal at the trail crossing to “ebb and flow” with vehicle traffic volume.
“Adding the automized signalization at the West Loveland Avenue crossing brings the plan for downtown’s traffic lights full circle. The traffic lights will work together as a network and can adjust within seconds to improve vehicle flow,” said City Manager David Kennedy in a press release.
For instance, when the vehicular traffic lights are red at the West Loveland Avenue/Karl Brown Way intersection and vehicle traffic is paused, the trail crossing’s signal automatically will turn green for cyclists and pedestrians to pass.
The new signalization is funded through an Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) grant totaling $281,898. It is one of 34 transportation infrastructure projects funded in 2022 by OKI, a metropolitan planning organization responsible for distributing federal money for regional projects.
According to City Hall, the technology used in the project requires very specific engineering, which the city will do throughout 2023. The city will coordinate with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) throughout the design process.
“We anticipate there will be an education period when the signal system is first installed, but this project is a true ‘win’ for pedestrian and cyclist safety, as well as a way to help improve traffic congestion in the downtown area,” Kennedy said.
Loveland has three Loveland Bike Trail crossings in Historic Downtown:
Design work will take place in 2023 with the proposed installation in 2024.
All images provided by the City of Loveland – text graphics added by Loveland Magazine.
Warren County, Ohio – Starting May 9th approximately 1,000 ft. in each direction of the Grandin Road intersection, the Little Miami Scenic Trail will be closed for construction for the duration of 2022. According to the Warren County Engineer, “There will be no posted detour because there is no complete off-road alternative”.
For more information: Warren County Construction Projects (arcgis.com)
In addition, the Little Miami Scenic Trail will be closed
by David Miller
Hamilton Township, Ohio – Trustee Marcus Shelton announced today that the Fosters Bridge over Little Miami River on US 22 / SR 3 is scheduled to close on June 7th for 50 days. The bridge is commonly known as the Viaduct Bridge.
Shelton said that this is the next phase of a dual bridge rehabilitation project where contractors for the Ohio Department of Transportation will be replacing the expansion joints, overlaying the bridge, patching the substructure, and upgrading the guardrail.
The project will require a full closure of U.S. 22 for up to 50 days. Currently, the closure is scheduled to go into effect on Monday, June 7.
While US 22 / SR 3 is closed, motorists will be detoured by way of Columbia Road, Western Row Road, I-71 and S.R. 48.
Due to anticipated increased traffic volumes on Old 3C Highway and other local routes, the left-turn movements at Socialville-Foster Road and Old 3C Highway and at Foster-Maineville Road and Old 3C will be prohibited.
In addition, the Loveland Bike Trail (Little Miami Scenic Trail) will be closed where it crosses Old 3C Highway, although the trail will be open to the north and to the south of Old 3C.
Shelton said, “These changes are being implemented to ensure safety and minimize the overall impact to motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.Motorists are encouraged to select alternate routes whenever possible, as they may experience traffic backups and significant delays, especially when traveling during peak travel times in the vicinity of the U.S. 22/3 bridge over the Little Miami River and in the Landen and Maineville areas.”
Loveland, Ohio – The Ohio River Foundation (ORF) is embarking on the largest habitat restoration project ever undertaken in Southwest Ohio. The project, made possible by a $50,000 grant from Coors Seltzer and its Change the Course partnership, will restore six miles of riverbank along three Ohio River tributaries: The Little Miami River, Great Miami River, and O’Bannon Creek.
ORF will plant 10,000 to 15,000 native trees and shrubs along those riverbanks. Phase one of the project begins this month and involves harvesting live stakes – taking cuttings from native trees that grow in riparian areas during their winter dormancy. Those “live stakes” will then be planted on riverbanks once the weather warms up in March.
“The Ohio River is a source of drinking water for more than 5 million people. But because of pollution from urban runoff, agriculture, sedimentation, and industrial pollution, many sections of the Ohio River do not meet water quality standards,” said Rich Cogen, Ohio River Foundation’s executive director.
The Little Miami is the source of drinking water for Loveland, Milford, and Indian Hill. O’Bannon Creek empties into the Little Miami in Historic Downtown and Loveland folks know this creek because they so often cross over it when heading north along the Loveland Bike Trail from Nisbet Park.
Plants along riverbanks improve water quality by keeping pollutants out of the water and by helping control erosion, thus reducing sedimentation. As they mature, these riparian plants also provide habitat for streamside birds and mammals and create shade that helps fish and other aquatic species thrive.
“Restoring the habitats along these tributaries will go a long way toward improving their health, and it will reduce the amount of pollution that makes its way into the Ohio River,” Cogen said.
Assisting ORF with this project are Great Parks of Hamilton County, Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District, Miami Township, Miami Conservancy District, Anderson Township, City of Loveland, Cincinnati Parks, Colerain Township, and Rivers Unlimited.
Volunteers are needed for both phases of the project. Live stake harvesting will take place on:
![[Photos] LHS XC headed to State Finals this morning](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/c.c.-to-state.jpg)
Alex Saletta (alternate), Brady Steiner, Sam Neiger, Grant Hanson, Cayden Dyer, Emmy Sager, AJ Stutz, Colin Beran, Alex Salatin (alternate), and Ryan Chevalier
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – It is a contribution of many factors that sends Loveland High School Cross Country runners to compete in the Ohio State Championship finals. The culture of running in Loveland that began decades ago when Loveland became the mecca of road running for enthusiasts from all over the Tri-State when Loveland became the first trailhead of the Little Miami Scenic Trail. Known forever around these parts as the Loveland Bike Trail. It’s in no small part attributable to excellent coaches over the years that are highly respected throughout Ohio. No doubt, parents who are raising these young men and women. No doubt the culture of running that begins in early grades within the school system with their after-school running clubs. No doubt the numerous road races held in Historic Downtown and along the Loveland Bike Trail. It’s the high school and middle school athletic departments teaching those in their care the right attitude and balance between competition and academic studies as well as hiring the right coaches.
Thus, LHS sent off the Men’s team and one Woman runner this morning to compete tomorrow at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio; to participate in the purest of athletic pursuits of running a 5K the fastest.
No fancy equipment is required. Of course, they will be running in some pretty expensive shoes, but New Balance and Nike aren’t going to determine the outcome tomorrow. It will be thousands of miles of practice that came before. It will be what’s in the runners’ heads tomorrow. It will be what has been in their head for many years; honing their technique, learning what to eat and not to eat, before, after, and in-between. It will be the endless days coping with injuries and resting injured muscles and shins when every constant thought is a painfully, agonizing crave too quickly returning to the pavement to get that next fix of adrenaline and endorphin. It’s the personal self-discipline to balance what the right and left brain are arguing about. It’s a well-developed skill of resolve to know how many or how few miles to put in the days leading to the next starter’s gun.
An hour before heading to the crowded starting line will be years of muscle memory kicking in knowing how much to run for a warm-up.
Round or flat laces and how tight to tie them.
Going to the State Final has been many years of lacing up and heading out the door when your mind plays a tug of war between a daily run or putting it off until tomorrow when you have a running buddy.
Here are photos of the LHS runners who did all that – and more – and photos from their school when they left this morning escorted through town by the Loveland Police Department. They also went by the Loveland Primary and Elementary School campus and were cheered by future Tiger runners.
This won’t be the last race they ever run, as every time they head out the door in the future they will still have an imaginary or real finish line ahead. Most have already developed something they will never get out of their system and will become life-long runners. They will never have to find a court or field, or someone to compete against, no one to throw the ball to… they will always have the road just outside their front door. The suburban street. The friendly community trail. A high school or college track. The inter-city block. The rural road. Just themselves and their shoes.
