The Scioto Mile
With February almost under our belt, our winter grumblings turn to thoughts of spring. Or, in the mayor’s case, thoughts of parks. Last week, Mayor Coleman announced a major collaboration with AEP and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation to create a riverfront park downtown called the Scioto Mile. Consisting of bike and pedestrian paths and multiple green spaces, it will stretch from the 11-acre North Bank Park south to the Whittier Peninsula, where the city, county and Audubon Society have teamed to develop a nature center. The Scioto Mile will consist of a street-level Promenade, a tree-lined walkway from Broad to Rich that connects Battelle and Bicentennial parks. On the lower level will be a 50-foot-wide Riverwalk, a path for joggers, bikers and skaters that will bring users to the river’s edge with native floodplain wetlands. The project also calls for Civic Center Drive to be narrowed from four lanes to two lanes. The Scioto Mile is part of the city’s strategic plan for revitalizing downtown that has fostered the area’s housing boom and Gay Street’s evolution into the strip of hip. “The Scioto Mile will offer something for everyone,” said Guy V. Worley, CEO of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, the agency responsible for implementing the city’s plan. The Scioto Mile project has more than $20 million in funding commitments, with the AEP Foundation committing to match up to $10 million of the city’s contribution to the project, over a five-year period. AEP is also providing a full-time executive, Dale Heydlauff, to assist with fundraising and planning. “Great cities are built around great parks,” said Mayor Coleman. “The Scioto Mile will be the jewel in the heart of Columbus.”
Check out regular progress reports on the Scioto Mile and other projects are posted at www.downtowncolumbus.com.
