The eastern suburban community of Anderson Township, has seen new investment flowing into its business corridor along Beechmont Avenue and is exploring other forms of planning outside of the typical suburban model.
The community of nearly 44,000, recently opened a transit center near its brand new Anderson Center on Five Mile Road. The township has also embraced the idea of trail networks throughout the suburban community.
It all began when the 1993 Anderson Township Transportation Plan and the 1986 Sidewalk Plan identified the needs for walkways, bikeways and trails to facilitate non-vehicular movement and provide ready access to locations such as schools, the post office, parks, retail centers, the library, recreational facilities, health centers and public transportation.
The end goal is to improve the quality of life for those living and working within the community who might be able to benefit from such trails.
Since those initial plans identified the needs, the township has constructed over seven miles of trails with another several miles added over recent years to the Five Mile Trail, Ohio River Trail and various local road networks.
The focus on trail networks is important to the township for a variety of reasons. One of those is the desirability they bring with them. In a
recent survey of 2,000 recent home buyers trails came in second in terms of "importance of community amenities."
Trails were one of 18 amenities that could have been selected and 36 percent of those surveyed said that walking, jogging or biking trails were either "important" or "very important." The next most important community amenity was the availability of sidewalks, parks and playgrounds respectively.
One of the most major trail projects is the
Ohio River Trail that will eventually link those living in eastern Cincinnati communities with downtown Cincinnati. Once complete the trail is envisioned to offer a bike trail commuting option for those living nearby and looking to avoid the automobile commute into the central business district.
Over the next few years township leaders hope to add several more miles to the Anderson Trails network with the biggest additions coming along Eight Mile Road, Clough Pike and Asbury Road as outlined by the 2005 Anderson Trails Plan Update.
Writer:
Randy Simes
Source: Anderson Township
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