Columbia Township invested $75,000 through its partnership to support Mariemont’s development of the next segment of the Murray Path extension.  In 2021 the path will be extended from Settle Rd. east to Plainville Rd. at the southern gateway to Columbia’s Plainville Business District and historic Madison Place neighborhood.

LANDSCAPING THE PATH

It’s an exciting time on a long-awaited project! Construction work is commencing on the Murray Multi-Purpose Path. Following path construction, the next phase will add plant and hardscape features to enhance the path’s function and appearance. This important phase has been made possible by donations from more than 200 individuals and organizations. Since the removal of the trolley line tracks in 1942, this section of our village has served primarily as a distribution and transmission line corridor for local utilities. Supported by an Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant and a generous contribution from Columbia Township, the Village of Mariemont is adding a 10-foot wide path from Settle to Plainville to restore this ribbon of land to an extension of a regional transportation network. Murray Path will connect to the popular multi-purpose path in Fairfax. A new segment of Wasson Way will connect to the Fairfax path, head through Ault Park, extending to Hyde Park, Xavier, U.C., and other points westward.

In the recently completed engineering phase, it was determined that existing angled parking in the corridor will be converted to groups of spaces parallel to the roadway to accommodate the path. The engineers also addressed significant surface drainage issues. To meet the Village’s design preferences, the path was configured with a slightly meandering alignment.
Village resident Martin Koepke is serving as the project Landscape Architect for the Mariemont project and has developed a Landscape Concept Plan. He has been working on this plan for the past few years, with input from village officials and community stakeholders. The overall objective remains unchanged – to convert the corridor into a greener, inviting asset that provides greater community connectivity and promotes healthy, active, lifestyle choices.

Although enhancements are limited by the width of the corridor and by restrictions under or near power lines, Mr. Koepke has configured an allée of multi-stem trees to soften the impact of the utilities and provide seasonal interest. Supplemen-tal shrubs and plant beds are associated with signage, parking, and intersections. Plant species were carefully selected for proven hardiness, salt resistance, minimal maintenance, and to provide intermittent light shade. Adding aesthetic value to a space currently void of focal interest is intended to enrich the path experience for the user, passerby, and adjacent residents of Columbia Township and Mariemont. Less formal than benches and more suited to this space, the plan includes a carefully selected set of boulders installed at seating height and placed in a manner to enhance separation from the roadway, with a variety of shapes and colors to add visual interest in their natural beauty.

THE LANDSCAPE PLAN IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW!
Check out: www.murraypath.org/information/ or in hard copy at the Mariemont Municipal Building lobby. Residents are encouraged to submit comments and suggestions to murraypath@gmail.com by May 3rd, 2021. In May, a final landscaping plan will be recommended to Mariemont Village Council for approval. With all the work slated for completion by Fall 2021, at this time next year we should see the Murray Path bursting forth with Spring blooms. Follow the project and related content at Facebook.com/murraypath.