Cincinnati is continuing negotiations with Norfolk Southern to acquire a currently unused section of railroad track running from Victory Parkway to Redbank Road.
The city wants to develop the nearly five-mile section of Wasson Way into a bike and hike trail.
City Transportation and Engineering Director Michael Moore updated a Council committee Tuesday on talks with the railroad.
“We’ve had a couple of other ideas that have come up that may be more compatible with what Norfolk Southern thinks they might want to do with the corridor for the future short of abandonment,” Moore said. “We have a little bit of research going on around that right now. But we hope to be done with that within the next 30 to 45 days and be able to put that offer out on the table.”
The railroad track hasn't been used since 2009, but it hasn't been abandoned yet.
Meanwhile, a community design workshop will be held on October 12th at Clark Montessori School concerning the project.
“No matter who you are, you don’t have to be a designer, what you know about the trail and what you know about transit opportunities, and what you know about the area,” Moore said. “To come and share that and hopefully get that put into some really great ideas that we can take forward and use to develop Wasson Way in the future.”
The session will be held at Clark Montessori School at 3030 Erie Avenue from 8:30 am to 12:45 pm.
The city manager wants to use $3 million from the parking lease plan for the Wasson Way project. That likely would cover the acquisition cost. The total project for the bike/hike trail has a price tag of about $10 million dollars.
The Wasson Way line could also be used if light rail were ever developed in the city.
