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Support sought for Mosquito Lake Greenway
By Ed Runyan
CORTLAND
Michael Swiatkwich can foresee a day when a 20-mile bike route will pass along the southern end of Mosquito Lake at state Route 305.
It would proceed north along Warren-Meadville Road to McCleary-Jacoby Road and then through U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land along the east side of the lake all the way to state Route 88.
The rest of the 16-mile route, to be known as the Mosquito Lake Greenway, would follow state routes 88 and 305 — which would be widened — and connect the Mosquito Lake Greenway with the existing Western Reserve Greenway.
Swiatkwich says he thinks the project, which has been in the planning stages for three years, has a decent chance of becoming reality.
For that to happen, however, there needs to be a partnership with at least a couple of state and federal agencies — Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Transportation and Army Corps of Engineers, Swiatkwich said.
To that end, Swiatkwich and other volunteers have nearly completed a presentation that they hope to give to those agencies in the coming months. The group will also meet with officials in the affected communities to put final touches on the presentation.
The affected communities — the communities where the project would exist — are the city of Cortland and townships of Mecca, Bristol, Champion and Bazetta.
With partners such as ODNR, ODOT and the Army Corps, the project has a chance of getting the necessary funding to bring the idea to life, Swiatkwich said.
Officials with the Trumbull County Planning Commission advised Swiatkwich and the others that the only way to receive grants is to have a state or federal agency partner. The agency would serve as project engineer.
The project has the support of a wide variety of government officials, such as elected and appointed state officials, the city of Cortland and the local townships and school districts, as well as service organizations, Swiatkwich said.
The project would involve a 4-foot widening of state routes 305 and 88 on both sides of the road and a new 10-foot wide asphalt path on the Army Corps of Engineers land on the east side of the lake.
The bike path also would pass through land where officials are proposing a park with a sled-riding hill and skating park.
The part of the Western Reserve Greenway that would be involved is 4 miles long.