Bike path will be extended to close gap in Great Miami trail

Hey Bicyclists - you will soon be getting another 7 and a half miles to ride...

Link: Bike path will be extended to close gap in Great Miami trail.

Bikers will have an additional 71/2 miles of scenic trail to traverse in 2008, when the new bike trail closes a gap in the Great Miami Recreational Trail System between Triangle Park and Rip Rap Road.

Cost estimates sink white-water park plan

This is disappointing news, especially for those who enjoy the growing sport of kayaking.  But though any new development like this in Downtown Dayton would be a positive, the fact that it won't be happening is not the end of the world.  In fact, it may even be a blessing in disguise.  A whitewater park would certainly cater to whitewater kayak enthusiasts from around the region and beyond - in the same way that Mad River Mountain caters to ski enthusiasts.  Neither is or would be a world class venue for its respective sport, but it would still be enjoyed by those that simply can't make the long trip to Colorado on a regular basis.  However, I imagine there are even more people that might not frequent a small whitewater park but would canoe or kayak the river as a whole if it were not for the low dams that exist today.  And now that it has been decided that the whitewater park will not be built, perhaps that leaves money open for adjusting the low dams so that the whole river can be enjoyed (according to the interview, Fiver Rivers Metroparks still hopes to be able to achieve this).  I believe that adjusting the low dams so that one can canoe or kayak from Huffman Park all the way down past Carillon Park is just as valuable as the whitewater park itself.

Hopefully the MetroParks and Miami Conservancy District organizations can still get the low dams done so that our underutilized river can be used by those of us that enjoy canoing and kayaking. 

Link: Cost estimates sink white-water park plan.
By Ken McCall
Dayton Daily News

The feasibility study for the park, which would have been located at the low dam just north of the Monument Avenue bridge, estimated the costs for the in-river construction at between $4 million and $8 million. Another $2 million in facilities and landscaping would be needed along the river bank to make the park a viable public attraction, said Carrie Scarfe, director of development and special projects for Five Rivers MetroParks.
The study, released Friday, said a white-water play area could be built at the site and would draw people from the Dayton region and beyond. But the park district and the Miami Conservancy District — the two agencies that paid a Colorado design firm $70,000 for the study — decided the cost was too steep.