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By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:16 p.m. EST, Feb 26, 2009
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County unveiled plans Wednesday for a new visitor center and a new trail at Liberty Park in northern Summit County.
The visitor center would be the park district's second. The other is the Seiberling Nature Realm off West Smith Road in Akron that is closed for major renovations. The park district is considering similar facilities elsewhere in the county.
The proposed Liberty Park facility would be modest, perhaps 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, and might include meeting space for up to 50 people, park officials said.
The park commissioners took no action on the proposed facility that would be east of Liberty Road in Twinsburg. But they approved plans for a new trail requiring extensive boardwalks that would take Liberty Park visitors to the sandstone cliffs and through a cave.
The plan calls for park crews to build a 2,600-foot section of the new Ledges Trail this winter and spring, park planner David Whited said. That section will require about 1,500 feet of modular boardwalk costing about $97,500, he said.
The park district has a $20,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to begin the work. A second section would stretch an additional 0.4 miles, Whited said. That section would require another 1,200 feet of boardwalk, costing about $78,500. The trail would provide limited public access to the cliffs, to one cave and to park wetlands, he said. Building such a trail is tricky because of the unusual topography, the cliffs and boulders, and wetlands at Liberty Park, Whited said.
The extensive use of boardwalks is required to safely take park visitors close to the outcroppings without risk to the park's unusual geological features, he said.
The new trail would be the third at 1,706-acre Liberty Park, which lies in Twinsburg, Twinsburg Township and Reminderville. A parking lot and access road to the trailhead and visitor center probably will be built in 2010, Whited said.
In other action, the park commissioners: • Announced three projects that might qualify for federal economic stimulus funds.
They are a $4.75 million project to battle invasive species, $2.5 million to continue converting Pond Brook from a ditch to a meandering stream in Liberty Park and $250,000 to fix up Rock Creek in Furnace Run Metro Park in Richfield.
• Approved an agreement with the Cascade Locks Park Association for marking the old Ferdinand Schumacher mill site off West North Street near downtown Akron. The park district pledged $50,000 toward the project.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County unveiled plans Wednesday for a new visitor center and a new trail at Liberty Park in northern Summit County.
The visitor center would be the park district's second. The other is the Seiberling Nature Realm off West Smith Road in Akron that is closed for major renovations. The park district is considering similar facilities elsewhere in the county.
The proposed Liberty Park facility would be modest, perhaps 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, and might include meeting space for up to 50 people, park officials said.
The park commissioners took no action on the proposed facility that would be east of Liberty Road in Twinsburg. But they approved plans for a new trail requiring extensive boardwalks that would take Liberty Park visitors to the sandstone cliffs and through a cave.
The plan calls for park crews to build a 2,600-foot section of the new Ledges Trail this winter and spring, park planner David Whited said. That section will require about 1,500 feet of modular boardwalk costing about $97,500, he said.
The park district has a $20,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to begin the work. A second section would stretch an additional 0.4 miles, Whited said. That section would require another 1,200 feet of boardwalk, costing about $78,500. The trail would provide limited public access to the cliffs, to one cave and to park wetlands, he said. Building such a trail is tricky because of the unusual topography, the cliffs and boulders, and wetlands at Liberty Park, Whited said.
The extensive use of boardwalks is required to safely take park visitors close to the outcroppings without risk to the park's unusual geological features, he said.
The new trail would be the third at 1,706-acre Liberty Park, which lies in Twinsburg, Twinsburg Township and Reminderville. A parking lot and access road to the trailhead and visitor center probably will be built in 2010, Whited said.
In other action, the park commissioners: • Announced three projects that might qualify for federal economic stimulus funds.
They are a $4.75 million project to battle invasive species, $2.5 million to continue converting Pond Brook from a ditch to a meandering stream in Liberty Park and $250,000 to fix up Rock Creek in Furnace Run Metro Park in Richfield.
• Approved an agreement with the Cascade Locks Park Association for marking the old Ferdinand Schumacher mill site off West North Street near downtown Akron. The park district pledged $50,000 toward the project.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
