Pathway progresses near Lions Park

SANDUSKY — They're roaring with delight after finalizing a process to develop a waterfront trail near Lions Park. During a recent public meeting, Sandusky officials announced construction plans to further extend the Sandusky Bay Pathway. These latest plans involve constructing two portions to link areas on the city's west end: Among the two tasks planned and starting soon: • Project No. 1 — From Mills Street to Lions Park, which includes over railroad tracks near Patina Creek; This amount totals a little more than $1 million, an expense fully covered by a state grant. • Project No. 2 — In Lions Park and on West Monroe Street near Sloane Street; This amount totals about $252,700, an expense coming from the city's budget. Construction work on these sections must end by fall 2027. Once complete, people can walk, run, bike or otherwise travel a linked recreational trail spanning roughly 3.25 uninterrupted miles, connecting Lions Park to Meigs Street. "The Sandusky Bay Pathway provides residents with a safe and accessible alternative transportation option, improving connectivity between neighborhoods, parks, downtown destinations and other key community assets while reducing conflicts with vehicle traffic," city project manager Megan Stookey said. More pathway portions coming Completing these sections of the pathway "before construction of the larger corridor next year is critical to establishing a continuous connection to the downtown pathway network," Stookey said. In the near future, city officials intend to take on additional construction projects to ultimately and fully connect the Sandusky Bay Pathway throughout city limits. Among the outstanding areas remaining: • From Lions Park to Toft Dairy, which includes another set of railroad tracks • Down First Street; The First Street component would connect Meigs Street and Sycamore Line to Cedar Point Drive, Pipe Creek and Cleveland Road, eventually weaving behind Sports Force Parks into what's known as The Landing, a 27-acre waterfront park and nature space. Because of the project's many complexities — which involve acquiring land, securing grants and working with other governments as well as local citizens — an overarching task like this can't be done in a short amount of time, Stookey said. "There have not been any true delays to the Sandusky Bay Pathway project," Stookey said. "The city has continued to actively advance the project while pursuing multiple grant opportunities to help offset local construction costs and maximize the use of outside funding." Piecing the pathway puzzle together Officials consider the Sandusky Bay Pathway a multimodal trail. People can run, bike, exercise and use low-speed motorized vehicles, like certain classes of e-bikes, so long as they abide by city laws and respect other pathway users. First envisioned by city officials in 2006, past and present officeholders view the pathway "as a way to better connect downtown, neighborhoods, parks and the waterfront with a safe, accessible trail network," according to a city statement. "The vision gained new momentum in 2017 when the city updated its plans and began pursuing funding to build the pathway piece by piece." Since then, the city has completed pathway segments along Shoreline Drive, Venice Road, Meigs Street, East Water Street and, this past summer, a bridge over Pipe Creek from Cedar Point Drive to near Hemminger Ditch off Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) Albeit segmented, the pathway totals about 5 miles today, which includes 2.2 uninterrupted miles. By 2029, officials ideally want to create an uninterrupted 13-mile-long waterfront route, connecting Sandusky's west side to its east end, linking parks, piers, restaurants, hotels, businesses, wooded areas, nature spaces and more. Future sections are either under contract or in development. This would include the aforementioned areas in and around Lions Park, the Cove District, First Street and The Landing. As they've done throughout this project's history, once officials receive money to improve a certain area, they'll embark on that portion. In other words, they've incrementally established the pathway as land and then funding has become available. By "taking a phased and grant-focused approach, it has allowed the city to extend the pathway system while being responsible stewards of taxpayer resources," Stookey said. "As funding opportunities became available, the city successfully secured state and federal assistance that reduced the financial burden on local residents and helped move additional pathway segments toward construction." Related projects, such as upgrading U.S. 6 between Sandusky and Huron, also incorporated a bike path component to further extend the Sandusky Bay Pathway's presence. Ideally, officials want to connect areas within and beyond Erie County, envisioning the pathway reaching 100 miles throughout Ohio, spanning areas of Erie, Lorain and Ottawa counties. Most notably, in 2025, local officials announced a plan to rebuild the Old/Sandusky Bay Bridge in Bay View, establishing a pedestrian-only connection from Erie to Ottawa counties. "The Sandusky Bay Pathway extension is a bold step toward creating a regional trail network that redefines how people experience our region," said Jeff Kerr, director of planning and policy for Greater Sandusky Partnership.