Park District Progress

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum Valley Park District continues making strides toward the completion of three new area parks.

Executive Director Russell Edgington announced the progress that is taking place at the Canal Trail Park, the Straker Landing site, as well as some upcoming touches that will be added to the Kearns Wetland Conservation area.

“Things are actually moving along quite well. We’re standing here on the actual bike path that is to be constructed. This is the base and actually today, they will be proof rolling and rolling that stone in eventually in the next couple of weeks people will be able to see the top coat and stuff put on. So you know it is the Canal Park Trail, so that is a major component and the trail will start at the Y-Bridge and go all the way back to the Lock Tender’s House,” Edgington said.

A large-cut, sandstone block arrangement from the previous Philo bridge will be repurposed and installed along the trail for riverside seating, as well as a handicap accessible kayak dock near the Lock Tender’s House for easier watercraft portaging. The estimated completion of the Canal Trail Park is sometime in September.

“We are working on Straker Landing,” Edgington said. “We just wrapped up demolition of all of the structures there. And then we also hired a contractor to come in and clean up. So there was a lot of debris there left over from when it was an operating facility. The old dock and things, all of that has been removed. The actual boat ramp has been cleaned up and covered and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that that ramp is going to be serviceable.”

Currently, the Straker Landing project appears to be ahead of budget and on track to have this phase of the project completed by the end of the year. Edgington added that the Kearns Wetland Conservation Area is getting prioritized so that it can finish ahead of the more than 1,000 new homes anticipated to be constructed in that area.