Columbus opens new park winding along riverfront

COLUMBUS (AP) — For the second time since late May, Ohio’s capital city is celebrating a major addition of green space.

Grand opening festivities were scheduled in downtown Columbus on Thursday for the new Scioto Mile, along the Scioto River a couple of blocks west of the Ohio Statehouse.

Planners say the $40 million project links current riverfront parks with a 30-foot-wide corridor of green, called the Promenade. The Scioto Mile also includes new fountains and a glass-enclosed restaurant with an outdoor dining terrace.

The dedication comes weeks after the city formally opened Columbus Commons, a 9-acre park on the site of the old City Center mall just south of the Statehouse.