Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

While I am no fitness freak, I do enjoy some physical activity with my family. Try jamming 5 bikes, my spouse and three kids into a minivan to travel over to the Ponds to take advantage of the facilities. I live on the east side of Pickerington with one of those infamous empty ''city parks'' between my house and the tracks and some sort of frisbee thing that no one will use going in adjacent to my development. I wonder what it would be like for me and my neighbors to instead of throwing a frisbee, if we could get on our bikes and ride over to the ponds?

Article published Sep 8, 2006
Riders enjoy serenity of natural bike trails
By JESSICA CROSSFIELD
E-G staff photographer
PICKERINGTON - As the sun quickly sets, Scott Felker, interpretive naturalist for Pickerington Ponds Metro Park, readies his bicycle and greets fellow riders at the beginning of the Blacklick Creek Greenway Trail.
The group is heading out on a Bright Moon Biking trip, a first-time event for the park.

''This ride gives people a chance to get out at night since the park is usually closed at sunset,'' said Felker. The idea for the bike ride came about while Felker was trying to think of new activities for the park.

''We also offer night hikes, so I thought, 'What can we do that is different?' '' Felker said.

About 10 bicyclists showed up for the ride, including Ira and Kathy Weiss, who often go biking at Blacklick. ''They (the bike rides) are so fun. Plus, we found the naturalists to be so wonderful,'' said Kathy. ''I hope we can see the moon tonight.''

The round-trip ride on the paved trail is about nine miles and would take about an hour-and-a-half, Felker said. ''That, of course, depends on how many stops we make and what we see.''

A lot of animals are active in the early evening hours - rabbits, deer, birds and bats. ''We may even hear a coyote,'' Felker said.

Agreed

I don't bike much myself anymore. Too much on each side of the saddle.

But combined biking/hiking trails would add a lot to this community -- especially a trail to Pickerington Ponds, our community's greatest natural resource. There must have been a half-dozen great blue herrons wading in the main pond when I drove by there the other night.

I also can recall gazing through binoculars at the herron rookery when it was running at full force in the spring. What a unique and beautiful sight! And that just scratches the surface of what that wonderful metropark has to offer.

I've always thought that we should take advantage of all the beautiful wooded streams that run through our community, by building trails along them that tie together our subdivisions. There are a couple such trails now. But unless we take steps now to make builders include them in their plans, it will soon be too late.

What a wonderful resource such trails would be. Just think of a trail running the length of Sycamore Creek, from one side of our community to the other. Or how about a trail along the stream (whatever it is called) that originates in Haaf Farms and runs all the way to the golf course. There's already a trail along the Glenshire portion of that stream.


By Yosemite Pam

I think there is a plan in City

Although this seems like a dream to have a community that is interconnected with bike trails and other walking trails it appears that the City is funding and at least making some effort to follow through on a bike/walking trail plan. It is interesting that people will ask for these kinds of facilities and when it comes to paying for them no one wants to commit. Clearly more forethought should have been put into these kinds of plans years ago to get a right-of-way dedication from our builders but we didn't. To put trails in now will cost more than anyone can or will fund. I believe the City is making some effort to remedy the problem but that will take years if not decades to accomplish. If you look at a map they are close to having a linkage of parks that could be connected to reach the Pickerington Ponds some time in the future.

I believe I read somewhere that they are going to put in a walking/bike trail down the west side of Diley once it is widened in 2007 and 2008. That would connect Windmiller Ponds, Georges Creek, Sheffield, Manchester, Preston Trails, Sycamore Creek and Fox Glen. I remember a big deal a few years ago when Randy was Mayor that they had right of ways to the Pickerington Ponds but so far I have not seen any linkage. Once that is connected you will see a connection along Long road which goes over near Gender.