A second route under development by the Ohio Department of Transportation starts in Cincinnati and ends in Cleveland. It should be finalized next year and will be designated U.S Bike Route 21. That route will intersect with Route 50 in Xenia. Other routes will follow.
The national biking network , or National Corridor Plan as it’s known, is being coordinated by the The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, state departments of transportation and The Adventure Cycling Association.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is lining up funding for signs to mark the route, said Julie Walcoff, ODOT’s bicycling expert who is working with the plan.
“I hope to have started with the signage by the next cycling season,” Walcoff said.
Route 50 through Ohio is 45 percent on established bike trails and 50 percent on roadways selected for biking ease with wider lanes and lower traffic volumes, Walcoff said. Route 50 arrives in the region through the Wolf Creek Trail, connects downtown to the Great Miami Bikeway then heads east via the Mad River Bikeway. At Eastwood MetroPark it connects to the Creekside Trail which runs through Beavercreek to Xenia.
“These great connected, off-street trails makes us a perfect fit for the national trail,” said Scott Murphy, president of Bike Miami Valley, the nonprofit advocate for cyclists.
AASHTO, which sets standards for highway design and construction, officially designated Route 50 earlier this year. As other states line up routes, Route 50 will connect California to Washington D.C. Indiana and West Virginia still are working out their connections.
The Dayton region’s trail network brings in an estimated $13 million annually to the local economy, according to a recent survey that evaluated the 330 miles of paved off-street trails. Last year, Five Rivers MetroParks, which manages the bikeways, completed a key connection directly linking downtown Dayton to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright State University and Fairborn.
To date, 6,790 miles of U.S. Bike Routes have been established in 15 states: Alaska, Kentucky, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. Another 40 states are working to create routes.
“Our goal is to create a national network of state routes that both commuters and recreational bikers can use to experience America and travel the country in a safe and reliable way,” Tony Dorsey, spokesman for AASHTO, said.
By Steve Bennish
Staff Writer
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