Oasis trail: From political battle to legal fight?

Residents and business leaders pushing for an East Side bike trail to be built may have won the political battle, but a legal fight could be looming.

The region's transit authority on Tuesday approved moving forward with the proposal to convert an unused rail line into a bike trail between Downtown and Lunken Airport. It's the biggest victory yet for a group that has worked for nearly a decade to build a 4 1/2-mile trail running parallel between Columbia Parkway and the Ohio River.

The trail, estimated to cost $4 million, could be open to cyclists, runners and walkers by early 2017. Ohio River Way, a group of East Side residents, business leaders and cycling enthusiasts, has vowed to raise most of the money to build the trail through private donations.

"The trail is an asset that the community clearly wants, and it will be an enhancement to multimodal transportation in the region," said Jason Dunn, chairman of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority.

The railroad company that uses an adjacent track in the Oasis corridor to move freight is promising a fight, though. Genesee & Wyoming officials have hinted at legal action during public meetings and in letters to SORTA.

"We will protect our rights," said Derek Winchester, a maintenance director for Genesee & Wyoming. "We've made our position clear: It's a safety issue, and we own the rights to that track."

The Oasis corridor includes two parallel-running railroad tracks, each about eight feet apart in most areas. Trains have not regularly used the north tracks since the 1980s, and Ohio River Way has pushed since 2006 to convert the line into a paved bike trail. The south tracks are used up two times a day by slow-moving freight trains hauling materials from an East End-based Ohio River barge terminal.

In 1994, SORTA spent $4 million to buy the rights to the land access for the entire Oasis corridor. Genesee & Wyoming paid $1 million to buy the south tracks and easement access to the north tracks. The company says it has plans to use the north tracks to expand its freight operations, although G&W has refused to provide details of those plans.

The railroad company appears to be in the minority of those opposing the bike trail project. The proposal has strong, bipartisan support from federal, state and local elected officials, including Ohio's U.S. senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and City Council and all three Hamilton County commissioners. The federal government still would have to approve the bike trail plan.

In December, Dunn called for a SORTA subcommittee to talk to several stakeholders and help the transit authority reach a decision on whether to support the project. Tuesday's vote officially ended SORTA's neutral stance on the bike trail project. Transit authority officials have vowed to include the railroad company in planning the trail.

"We'll work with others to attempt to solve the obstacles – the regulatory issues, the liability, and most importantly, the design of a safe trail," Brendon Cull, who led SORTA's bike trail committee, said during the meeting.

Railroad companies typically fight rails-with-trails projects, said Eric Oberg, manager of trail development for the national Rails-To-Trails Conservancy's Columbus-area office. Companies want to protect future business interests, and do not want to be held liable for rails-with-trails-related accidents.

There are 161 trails adjacent to active rail lines across 41 states, according to a 2013 study by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The study found one death of a trail user involving a train. Overall, the organization says it has found that only three trail users have died in incidents with trains over the past 20 years. None of the deaths were in Ohio.

"We find that to be a pretty (darn) good track record," Oberg said.

In Ohio, there are four trails located adjacent to active rail lines. Genesee & Wyoming runs trains next to a bike trail in the Urbana area. In the Columbus region, work is nearing completion on converting about 12 miles of a rail line into a trail. Slow-moving freight trains will continue to use an adjacent rail line, Oberg said.

Here at home, Great Parks of Hamilton County will lead the planning of the Oasis bike trail. The parks district also would maintain the trail. Great Parks will begin a year-long planning process after everything is worked out with the railroad company, executive director Jack Sutton said.

"We're very serious about listening to the railroad's concerns," Sutton said. "We're taking their concerns very seriously and will address them step-by-step."

Once planning begins, Ohio River Way will resume fundraising efforts. The group already has raised about $1 million, including $200,000 from the city. It's possible the city will chip in more money, but most of it will be raised privately.

"We'll be ready," said Jan Portman of Ohio River Way.