Putnam Greenway Open to the Public

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum Valley Park District formally opened the Putnam Greenway Recreational Trail today with help from funding provided by the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation.

The paved walkway-bikeway will connect with the Zane’s Landing Bike Trail via the planned Canal Park Trail, which will cross the river along the Sixth Street Bridge to Putnam Landing Park, where the Putnam Greenway currently stretches a half-mile southward along the west bank of the Muskingum River. 

“The park district has owned the property for about 27 years now. And it… for anybody in the community that’s ever come down this way, it’s an incredible difference from what it used to be. I mean we hauled out… I don’t know how many dump loads of dumping debris and stuff; and so it’s really cleaned up the Muskingum Avenue corridor,” Muskingum Valley Park District Executive Director Russell Edgington said.

Many of the park district’s projects are aimed to clean up brownfields, which are abandoned industrial sites leftover from a bygone area that are now being converted into 21st Century greenways and greenspaces to better appeal to today’s business leaders. 

“We like to fund trails because they’re economic drivers,” J.W. and M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation President Susan Holdren said. “They bring people to the area. And also many people, young professionals are looking for trails when they look to find a place to live and work. So that is one of the main reasons we support them.” 

The million dollar Putnam Greenway project is just one of many park district projects that aim to serve as a catalyst for future Muskingum County business and tourism endeavors, in addition to performing safe and responsible environmental reclamation.