The Wasson Way Trail Network
The Wasson Way Trail Network will be a bicycle and pedestrian corridor using trail and signed bicycle routes connecting Uptown and Fairfax. The trail will be located primarily within an unused railroad corridor and existing City right-of-way. The trail is being developed in multiple phases, with several already completed and accessible; detailed descriptions can be found in the Overview tab below.
View A Map of the Wasson Way Trail Network
The Wasson Way Trail Network will create a ladder to opportunity for 83,000 residents living in 8 Cincinnati neighborhoods and three municipalities along the trail. The trail network and signed bicycle routes will connect these 83,000 residents to the second largest employment center in the region (the Uptown community), the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Withrow High School, Walnut Hills High School, the 70 shops and restaurants in the 25-acre Rookwood Commons shopping center, the new 12-acre Rookwood Exchange retail/office development, the new 15-acre University Station retail/office/housing development and numerous other neighborhood business districts within walking distance of the trail.
The proposed trail network will be transformative to the region in many ways, including: increasing mobility and accessibility, reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled, reducing CO2 emissions, creating travel time savings due to reduced rush-hour traffic congestion, reducing accidents, reducing household transportation costs, and increasing health and wellness.
Phase 1
Phase 1 of the trail was constructed in 2018. Phase 1 extends .6 miles from Tamarack Avenue to Madison Road. The cost of construction for Phase 1 was $1.4M. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources awarded this project a Clean Ohio Trails Fund grant in the amount of $500,000, and the Wasson Way non-profit organization donated an additional $50,000.
Phase 2
Phase 2 of the trail was constructed in 2019. Phase 2 extends .7 miles from Tamarack Avenue to Montgomery Rd. The cost of construction for Phase 2 was $3.4M. Phase 2 was awarded $943,000 in federal Transportation Alternatives grant funding and $500,000 from the Clean Ohio Trails Fund.
Phase 3
Work on Phase 3 began during the summer of 2020 and was completed in summer of 2021. The length of Phase 3 is 1.2 miles, beginning at Madison Road and ending near Marburg Avenue. Phase 3 had construction costs of $1.5M. Phases 3, 4, 5 and 6 were awarded $6.0M in federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funding, with Phase 3 using $0.9M of those funds. Phase 3 was also awarded $.25M in funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
Phases 4 & 5
Construction of Phases 4 and 5 was completed in 2021. The length of Phases 4 and 5 is 1.25 miles, beginning at Marburg Avenue and ending at Old Red Bank Road. These phases had construction costs of $3.6M. Phases 4 and 5 were built as a single project, and used $2.6M of federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funding. This phase was also awarded $500,000 in Clean Ohio Trail Funds from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Phase 6
Work on Phase 6A is planned to begin in summer 2023 and be complete by winter of 2023. Phase 6A will be built in an existing Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) owned transit corridor between Xavier University and Avondale. The length of Phase 6 is 0.8 miles, beginning at Woodburn Avenue and ending at Blair Court. This phase has estimated construction costs of $2.3M. This phase will use $1.7M of the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funds.
Phase 6B will be built by Xavier University, entirely on campus between Dana Avenue and Montgomery Rd.
Phase 7
The City of Cincinnati is in the process of designing Phase 7 of the trail, which will connect to Phase 6 at Blair Court, and end at the shared use path along MLK. This trail segment will be approximately 0.7 miles long. Construction for this project is expected to begin in the Summer of 2024 and be completed by the Summer of 2025.
Phase 7 has an estimated construction cost of $5.2M and has received $3.762M in federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funding from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.
Trail Design
An open house to collect public feedback on trailhead locations, access points, and trail design was held on November 15, 2016.
The spine of the trail network has been divided into four construction phases. Design and construction of each phase will move forward as funding becomes available.
View a Map of Proposed Construction Phases
Trailheads
Distance decay curves show how far pedestrians and bicyclists are willing to travel in order to access different types of destinations (work, shopping etc). This information, along with an analysis of walking speeds of different user types helped the design team determine where to propose trailhead locations along the trail corridor. In addition to these trailheads, there will be access points where smaller neighborhood streets abut the trail.
View Distance Decay Curves for Walking and Bicycle Trips
View Pedestrian Groups and Their Walking Speeds
View Walking Distances between Proposed Trailheads
Design
Based on best practices around the globe, the design team has recommended that two paths be constructed wherever space and funding allows. One path will be for faster moving users (runners, bicyclists etc), and the other path will be for slower moving trail users. Separating faster and slower users will reduce conflicts on the trail.