Bikers, hikers to see 'bold new era' on NKY riverfront

You should have a much easier time biking and hiking along the shore in Northern Kentucky by the end of 2015.

The long-sought-after Riverfront Commons project this year will have some of its most significant construction so far of the planned 11.5-mile walking and biking path along the Ohio River from Fort Thomas to Ludlow.

This has avid cyclists, like Newport resident Nick Miller, rejoicing.

"If you look along the Newport riverfront, the vibrancy there has a direct link to that river and the walk-ability and access points along the river," Miller said. "It is a bold new era in town and an exciting one."

The project will get done piecemeal as federal and state dollars are available, said Jack Moreland, president of economic development agency Southbank Partners, which has taken the lead planning Riverfront Commons. This spring and summer, about $600,000 in federal transportation grants will pay for about 1.5 miles of the path through Ludlow, Covington, Newport and Bellevue, as well as signage. The state will also invest $3 million in stabilizing a piece of shore on the Bellevue/Newport border and creating a green space.

Even if you're not a cyclist or avid walker, there's reason to care about the path: It will make it easier for the cities to market themselves to businesses and residents, officials said. Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso credited Riverfront Commons with greasing the wheels for the $80 million hotel and apartment complex under construction next to the Levee.

He hopes the path will interest a developer in the vacant school building on Fourth Street.

"People want recreation opportunities, whether it's jogging, walking, riding bicycles," Peluso said. "They want to do it in a scenic area. It will attract a lot of people and will keep the people here. I can't wait for it to happen."

Here's the part of Riverfront Commons that will get built this year:

Covington

Covington will use a $182,000 federal grant to build a paved bike and walking path along most of its riverbank this spring. It's to stretch from the Roebling Suspension Bridge to just past the Brent Spence Bridge exiting onto Ky. 8 toward Ludlow.

"I think it absolutely is important for a lot of residents," said Covington City Commissioner Steve Frank. "I fully understand that the quality of life means a lot to attract residents. When citizens come, businesses follow."

Much bigger plans await Covington's riverfront, depending on federal money and approvals. The city will begin what could be $10 million worth of improvements to its riverbank once it gets approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, expected sometime this year. The city has applied for more than $4.4 million worth of federal transportation enhancement grants and will learn whether it will get any of that money in the spring, said Mike Yeager, Covington's city engineer.

If they do get the money, Covington hopes to turn the Covington Landing area into a well-manicured park with paved and grass gathering spaces.

The city has committed $2.7 million in city money to the project. What can get done and when will depend on federal money.

Erosion is one of the biggest enemies to Riverfront Commons. The riverbank in many areas must get stabilized before anything, even a trail, could be built. That's why the path being built this spring in Covington won't extend between the Suspension Bridge and the Licking River in front of the Licking Riverside neighborhood. That area must get stabilized first, Yeager said.

Yeager said they hope to begin shoring up the riverbank with a retaining wall, both underwater and above ground, in nine months once the Army Corps of Engineers gives the OK, he said. That will cost $1 million.

Newport

Newport's portion of the project will keep people from darting across the Interstate 471 on and off ramps along Dave Cowens Drive (Ky. 8).

There's no sidewalk along the portion of Ky. 8 at the I-471 underpass, but pedestrians going from Bellevue to Newport on the Levee still risk it.

Newport will use a $150,000 federal grant to complete the sidewalk along Dave Cowens Drive (Ky. 8) and tie in to the pedestrian bridge on top of the floodwall. That 3,000-foot bridge was built in 2014 with a $1 million federal grant.

A new overlook and public gathering space will be added where Taylor Creek empties into the Ohio River. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will spend about $3 million adding fill dirt stabilizing the bank and building an observation point over where a small bend in the river now exists, Moreland said.

"It's just a piece of the puzzle that will make riverfront commons a destination" Moreland said. "Having a little green space right next to the river is going to attract people."

Bellevue

A $20,000 federal grant will pay for new signs in Bellevue along the river with the Riverfront Commons logo and directions to attractions in Newport and Bellevue. It also will pave some additional sidewalks in the retail development that has Joe's Crab Shack and Buckhead.

Ludlow

A $250,000 federal grant will pay for 3,000 feet of path along Ludlow's riverfront this year. It will extend from the Board of Education property to the Railroad Bridge.

Future Riverfront Commons projects

Southbank Partners has applied for a $600,000 federal transportation grant to build a path along the front of the Manhattan Harbor development in Dayton.

The agency hopes to get railroad company CSX's blessing for what would be the longest piece of the trail extending along the active railway line parallel to Ky. 8 from Dayton to the Combs-Hehl Bridge, Moreland said.

Southbank Partners has discussed this with the railroad, but getting approval from the railroad company has been difficult, Moreland said.

Cyclists like Miller hope Riverfront Commons will lead to more cyclists. Right now, with few bike paths that aren't in traffic, it keeps people from taking up the sport, Miller said.

"For someone like me, I'll be riding a bicycle no matter what," Miller said. "When I was a kid growing up in rural Indiana, I rode on the street all the time. But a lot of people I talk to who are afraid to ride in traffic, my wife being among them, because it's intimidating ... I hope this broadens the number of people on bikes."