Work is set to begin this spring on the second phase of the Rubber City Heritage Trail, a 6-mile, multi-use recreational trail that will utilize one of Akron’s abandoned railways.
While the former rail line connected Akron’s rubber industry — tire companies such as B.F. Goodrich, Goodyear, General Tire and Firestone — the finished trail will connect some of Akron’s neighborhoods (Goodyear Heights, Middlebury, University of Akron, downtown Akron, Firestone Park, Summit Lake and Kenmore).
One of the challenges of building this trail is that it runs through the heart of the community, said Dan Rice, the president and CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition.
But the beauty of this project, and an unusual aspect of it, is that the city already owns roughly 80% of the land on the Rubber City Heritage Trail, Rice said. Because of this, there is significant potential for the trail and its ability to connect people to resources, he said…