The City of Columbus was awarded nearly $2.5 million for the purchase of an abandoned rail corridor that runs through Linden. The plan is to turn the seven-mile-long, 58-acre piece of land into a linear park, with a 10-foot-wide shared use path running along its entire length.
The corridor is approximately 80 feet wide and stretches from South Linden to Northland – specifically, from the Douglas Community Center on Windsor Avenue to Cooper Park, which sits north of State Route 161.
The land alongside the trail would be “devoted to [the] restoration of a natural area, i.e. forest plantings, native shrubs, wildflowers and selective open greenspace,” according to a project description provided by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC).
“Where appropriate, and designed with input from the community, selected small-scale amenities (play space, gathering areas, seating, exercise, etc.) are planned to be included,” it continues.
There would be over 40 access points to the linear park, which would run through several different neighborhoods and be located within a ten-minute walk of about 131,000 people, according to materials produced by the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.
It would run through Kilbourne Run Sports Park, and would also connect several existing wooded areas and small tributaries to Alum Creek that could serve as future trail and park corridors running east-west.
The grant money – awarded earlier this month – comes from the state’s Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, which in Franklin County is administered by MORPC.
A spokesperson for Recreation and Parks declined to comment on the Linden Green Line proposal, and said that they are unable to provide an update on another, similar project that is also in the planning stage – the Eastmoor Green Line.
Two other local projects received Clean Ohio Conservation Fund grants in the most recent round:
- Metro Parks was awarded a little over $1.5 million to acquire an 83-acre parcel in Hilliard, near Homestead Metro Park, known as Clover Groff Headwaters.
- Whitehall was awarded $535,000 to buy ten acres of greenspace along Big Walnut Creek. adjacent to the planned extension of the Big Walnut Trail.
For more information on the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, see www.morpc.org.
