Pedestrian bridge and improved entryway coming to park

by Sue Serdinak

Jan. 27 Grant Committee meeting

If everything goes as planned, a new pedestrian bridge will be in place sometime this summer in the Richfield Heritage Preserve. According to Grant Committee Chair Mike Selig, the existing bridge over the Lake Linnea spillway is safe but unattractive, and its surface is difficult to walk on. 

The new bridge will be manufactured off site and purchased by the Richfield Heritage Preserve. According to Park Director John Piepsny, the engineering firm Gannet Fleming will act as project manager and draw up specifications for the bridge so it will interface with the existing abutments. Their fee is $13,142. 

The Ohio Operating Engineers and Local Iron Workers 17 will put the bridge in place. The park will be responsible for the decking.

Selig said it would not be possible to exactly match the old bridge because the Girl Scouts built it over different periods. He said that a $60,000 Nature Works Grant would pay for the bridge replacement, with a $20,000 contribution or in-kind labor provided by the park. 

To satisfy the grant, the project must be completed by the end of 2025. 

State Capital Grant

A $150,000 state capital grant awarded in 2024 must be used to update the Broadview Road entrance and improve the Buckeye Trail, which runs alongside the entrance road. 

The Buckeye Trail Association has agreed to do most of the work of moving the trail off the road to help free up some funds originally estimated to be needed for the new trail. Some grant money may be used to help pay for the spillway bridge decking.  

The Buckeye Trail group will work for a week in April, camping overnight, to create the new trail. An outside firm will pave the entrance driveway so the work can be warrantied.

Piepsny said he will have the Broadview Road chain-link and barbed wired fencing and gate removed. 

Doug Wisnieski, a member of Friends of Richfield Heritage Preserve, said that some volunteers could easily handle that job.  

Recreation Trail

Selig said the committee is working on a grant proposal for ADA accessible trails. He said they want to pave a portion of the road leading to Amity and North House. Selig also suggested an equestrian trail be constructed to connect the Buckeye Trail to the area near the former swimming pool, so horses wouldn’t have to go on the road near the Lodge. 

Erosion Control – High Lea Creek

Piepsny said that erosion is pretty intense at High Lea Creek. He said the hill has eroded 18 feet in the 2 1/2 years since he started working in the park.

Selig said the Summit Soil and Water Conservation district would help write a grant to correct the problem. 

Bridge removal

The bridge west of the Kirby Mill has been closed for some time. The Ohio Operating Engineers have agreed to remove the large concrete bridge abutments, and the Buckeye Trail group will install a new pedestrian/equestrian bridge. 

Pool House

Piepsny said he wants to demo the former pool house. He said the Coach House could be used to store items now in the pool house. Wisnieski, who has tracked the buried water line throughout the park, said Coach House has water, gas and electricity. The pool house has gas and water and offers a large area for storage, especially for lawn equipment. 

photo caption: Another bridge along the Buckeye Trail, just west of the Kirby Mill and dam, has been closed for several months. The Ohio Operating Engineers have agreed to remove the bridge and abutments and the Buckeye Trail group has offered to create a new section of the trail that will be available to hikers and equestrians. Photo by S. Serdinak.