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Greenways
in the News
American
Trails Honor the Schnatters (Courier-Journal, November 26, 2008)
Commerce Parkway Trails Work Continues, Courier-Journal, November 19,
2008
Oldham to Celebrate New Trails,
Courier-Journal, July 2, 2008
Northeaster Metro Loop Planning Commences, Courier-Journal,
December 17, 2007
Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Summit,
Oldham Era, October 3, 2007
Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Summit,
Courier-Journal, October 3, 2007
Hwy
1793 May Get Sidewalks,
Courier-Journal, October 3, 2007
Group Seeks Way to Create Horse Trails Throughout Oldham County,
RoundAbout,
September 2007 Edition
Bicycling, Canoeing among Activities on Louisville's Recreational Pathway,
RoundAbout, April
2007 edition.
Greenways for Oldham County seeks grant money for
Pathway, RoundAbout, March 2007 edition.
Greener Pastures?: Engineers to explore an
alternate route for greenway to avoid right-of-way issues,
The Oldham Era, Feb 25, 2005
UK Students Reveal Plans for Growth,
Oldham Era, April 2, 2004
Walkable Community Workshop Offers Insight,
Oldham Era, March 11, 2004
Community Needs Push for Change,
Oldham Era Editorial, March 11, 2004
Chamber of Commerce Relocates to Historic
Train Depot, The
Oldham Era, July 16, 2004
Interurban Greenways begins Phase 1,
RoundAbout, May 2003
Preserving Nature,
The Oldham Era, April 18, 2002
Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Summit Held September
26, 2007
Significant
Interest Displayed from Local & Regional Governments,
Non-Profit Organizations, Developer/Real Estate Community,
and Engineering Firms
Greenways
for Oldham County, in partnership with Oldham County Government hosted a
county-wide Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways summit on Wednesday,
September 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m at the Fiscal Court room in
LaGrange. The summit, open to all individuals and groups with an
interest in bicycling, walking, hiking, equestrian trails, and greenways
in Oldham County was well attended and proclaimed very successful by
Oldham County Judge-Executive Duane Murner in his closing remarks.
The summit will be
broadcast on Oldham County Public Access Channel 25 throughout the next
several weeks.
The summit was planned in conjunction with the recently started Bike, Pedestrian, and
Greenways Master Plan funded by a grant from KIPDA. Oldham County
Judge-Executive Duane Murner and Greenways for Oldham County Vice
President Dr. Ashli Collins co-hosted the event, supported by the Oldham
County Planning and Zoning office.
The summit allowed the consultant for the master plan,
Brandstetter Carroll Inc. to meet key persons
involved in county trails efforts, understand current connections, and
hear individuals and groups detail future possible connections needed in
the county.
State and
county officials; representatives from Metro Louisville Parks; representatives from multiple Oldham County non-profit
organizations, the development and realtor community and others provided
presentation on their respective group's interest and potential
contributions to the county's trails and greenways program.
In all, 27
separate individuals and organizations provided presentations for the
summit. A breakout of the presenters include:
- Six local/regional governmental entities including
representatives Oldham County Government, Metro Government Parks and The
Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency (KIPDA).
- Twelve Oldham County and Jefferson County non-profit
organizations with an interest in bike, pedestrian and equine trails and
greenways.
- One quasi-public organization, the Oldham County Economic
Development Agency.
- Three private developers/real estate agents.
- Four engineering/consulting firms including Brandstetter Carroll
Inc who is developing the master plan for Oldham County.
Download presentations from the summit
Download the summit agenda
Download the
Louisville Courier-Journal Article
Download the Oldham
Era Article
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kentucky Legislature Passes
Recreational Trails Legislation
Governor Steve Beshear signed
into Law Senate Bill 196 on April 11. The legislation
establishes
the
Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority attached to the
Office of the Secretary, Commerce
Cabinet, for the purpose of planning and implementing
programs to expand tourism opportunities for off-road
activities that are pertinent to nonmotorized and motorized
vehicle use, including but not limited to
pedestrians, bicycles, mountain bicycles, horses,
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and off-highway vehicles (OHVs),
on designated lands in Kentucky. The legislation
addresses contractual agreements for public use of private
land, its operations, maintenance, and protection of
landowners' rights and interests.
The Kentucky Recreational
Trails Authority is charged with responsibility for
developing and implementing a strategy to increase
responsible and legal recreational activity by all types of
recreational users, including all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and
off-highway vehicles (OHV) on private land. The authority
shall include an informational campaign directed toward
in-state and out-of-state recreational users that addresses
the implications of trespass, vandalism, and littering.
Read the text of Senate Bill 196
Morgan Conservation Park Upgrades
Planned; Includes Trails
Pat Hoagland of
Brandstetter Carroll Inc. presented The Master Plan for the
Morgan Conservation Park, located on Hwy. 524 in Westport,
Ky., on Feb. 25 at the John W. Black Community Center in
Buckner. This was a requirement for applying for grants
according to Oldham County Parks and Recreation Director Tim
Curtis.
The fact that most of the
area is in trails and remains in its natural state make it a
conservation park, said Hoagland. There will be no sports
fields, but instead the park will be used for environmental
education purposes.
The conservation park is a
227-acre park acquired in 2003 by the county. A grant in the
amount of $53,498 has been applied for from the Land and
Water Conservation Fund. This money would pay for electric
and water, construction of a shelter and a compost pit and
toilet station, he said.
Trail signs have already
been purchased and placed at the park. Trails were
kept mowed last summer, but not a lot of upgrades have taken
place at the site. The trails are relatively primitive
but offer several miles of challenging hiking.
Read the April 2008 RoundAbout Article
by Helen McKinney
Welcome 2008:
Greenways for Oldham County Set for Great Year
 Greenways
for Oldham County believes 2008 will be a significant year for Oldham
County in the development of connected trails and greenways in the
County. The Bike, Pedestrian and Greenways Master Plan was completed in
January and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in April.
Included in the plan are recommendations for a county-wide system of
trails along with an implementation section that includes several
projects that will be started and completed this year.
Greenways
for Oldham County is partnering with the Parks and Recreation
Department to construct nearly 3.5 miles of trails within Wendell Moore
Park in LaGrange this summer. Groundbreaking for the project took
place on July 20.
Left:
Greenways for Oldham County tent during Oldham County Day, July 19, 2008
We also
expect a ground breaking this spring for the first section of the
Commerce Parkway segment of the county greenways initiative.
We will pursue additional grant
opportunities in 2008 in order to realize demonstrative results in
trails development this year. We will also ask for your letters of
support as part of our grant requests.
Planning
for the Louisville City of Parks Northeast Trail Corridor, which will
run from the area of U.S. 42 in Prospect to Miles Park, which is near
Shelbyville Road and the north end of the Floyds Ford Greenway commenced
with a public meeting on December 19, 2008. The plans will include
connections to Oldham County. Greenways for Oldham County will be
active in the planning for the Northeast Loop as it progresses during
2008 and beyond.
Plans for Floyds
Fork Park Released March 4, 2008
Read the Courier-Journal Article from March 2
View a Schematic
Visit
21st Century Parks Web
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
July 17, 2007
Oldham County Vision Council Presents
Report to Oldham County Fiscal Court
Greenways and Trails are Key Elements
Kevin Eldridge, Chairman of the
Oldham County Vision Council, provided the council's report to Oldham County
Fiscal Court on Tuesday, July 17. Appointed by Judge-Executive Duane
Murner, the 20 person council was tasked to
meet, gather information, solicit input from fellow citizens, and create a paper
describing the vision of what Oldham County should be in four years. The
following statements from the report relative to greenways and trails is
extracted from the report.
Oldham
County citizens value the county’s privately and publicly owned open
spaces and parks as they contribute to the county’s high quality of life
and help the county meet its federal and state environmental protection
mandates. Those goals and objectives from the county’s Comprehensive
Plan relating to parks, open spaces, and greenways remain valid today
and the county should work towards fully implementing them over the next
few years.
The
county’s green infrastructure—its public parks, greenways, trails and
wildlife corridors—should be planned, programmed and funded as separate
budget line items just as any other
capital acquisition.
The
ongoing Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the Greenways Master Plan
will likely provide a solid framework for the county in planning future
open space needs of county citizens. The county should commit to
implementing the respective plans’ county-approved recommendations by
including funding requirements in its annual and long-range budgets and
by measuring progress on a yearly basis.
The
county should complete its trails and conservation subdivision sections
of its Subdivision Regulations by year’s end. These sections should
promote interconnecting trails/sidewalks between subdivisions and
connectivity to planned county greenways. Developers should be
encouraged to include trails/sidewalks that exceed county standards in
their designs and to meet or exceed land conservation thresholds in
proposed conservation developments.
The
county should continue to pursue partnerships with the many county
non-profit organizations that are involved in recreation and the
promotion of parks, trails, and equine activities for public use. The
county and these organizations should work together to obtain maximum
grant funding to support county objectives. The county should
coordinate with the Oldham County Board of Education, non-profit
organizations and other users to help maintain these public facilities
to optimize taxpayers’ investments.
The
county should consider the use of its bonding authority as one option
for implementing its parks and open space programs—especially if the
opportunity arises to acquire exceptional lands with public access to
the Ohio River. The use of bonds could be placed on the ballot to
ensure citizen support.
Download the Report
Download the Presentation to Oldham County Fiscal Court
We urge you to read the report and pass it on
to your friends. More importantly, we ask that you contact your
magistrate and let him or her know that it is important to implement this
vision now in order to enhance and conserve our quality of life.
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