The original Loveland to Morrow section of the trail was completed in 1983.  Over these past 30 years, the State of Ohio has done nothing to maintain the trail surface--no crack-filling, no seal-coating, no repaving.  Imagine if you had a 50-mile long asphalt driveway and for 30 years you did nothing to maintain the surface!  All credit for our good fortune (so far) goes to the original railroad engineers who put down the ballast base upon which the trail currently rests.

But, as stewards of the trail, we believe we must be proactive if we're to maintain and preserve this regional asset for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. Therefore, last year, with a $12,000 grant from Interact for Health, we crack-filled the southern end of the trail from mile marker 53.0 to 44.5. This year we're reapplying to Interact for Health for $25,000 to crack-fill the remaining 41.5 miles of the trail.

And today, we have an exciting announcement.  If the Friends of the Little Miami State Park (FLMSP) can get pledges/commitments from its supporters for $37,000 to fulfill the "match" requirement, we can apply for a $150,000 Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant!  In other words, for every $1 we raise the grant pays us $4!

A pledge/commitment is simply a promise to convert the amount you name to a donation IF, and only if, we're successful in securing the $150,000 grant.

The Projects

So what do we plan to do with the $187,000 ($37,000 match plus $150,000 grant) if we secure the grant? After extensive review of trail conditions and consultation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and engineers, we've determined that the following projects will provide the best investment of funds to improve the trail both now and for many years into the future:

1. Remediate the flooding at Center Street (mile marker 46.5 to 46.8).  This will require surveying and the installation of one or more culverts to get the water moving under the trail instead of over the trail.
    
2. Remediate 5 slumps north of Richland Road (mile marker 3.5 to 5.2).  These are areas where the trail has separated leaving a long vertical crack and, in some cases, the two resulting trail surfaces are at different levels.
    
3. Remediate off-trail erosion just north of the Milford trail head (mile marker 50.3). 
    
4. Apply remaining funds to adding 1.5" of asphalt and reberming starting just north of the Milford trailhead (mile marker 50.8) and going north until the money runs out. We say "until the money runs out" because we won't know how many miles of repaving/reberming we can do until the bidding process is complete.  We've been told it might be as much as $50,000 per mile or more.

We need you!
 

We hope you will join us in seizing this remarkable opportunity to quadruple your donation to FLMSP through this matching grant. Can we count on your support?

You can make your pledge by clicking the button below. The pledge form is also available on our website at www.flmsp.org. Remember, your pledge/commitment only comes "due" IF we're actually successful in securing the $150,000 grant.