Updated Project Scoping Information

The proposed Hemlock Trail is an approximately 1.5 to 1.7 mile long multi-purpose trail to be located within the City of Independence and Village of Valley View, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

The City of Independence does not have direct access to the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). In order to access the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, residents must either park in the CVNP, or utilize Rockside Road, Hillside Road, or Pleasant Valley Road. This new trail will connect the Towpath Trail to Brecksville Road in Independence.

The funding for project is from the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) and will be administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 12. Because the project may involve NPS lands the project will need to meet the National Park Service's (NPS) environmental process and required environmental documentation.

The FHWA and NPS have agreed to having FHWA be the lead federal agency on this action. The project will be classified as a Categorical Exclusion Level 4 project in accordance with the Categorical Exclusion Programmatic Agreement with ODOT, but environmental documents will also meet the NPS requirements for an Environmental Assessment.

Initial public scoping for a preliminary set of alternatives took place 12/04/07 - 01/15/08.

An updated (March 2012) description and map of the current set of Alternatives being evaluated is provided below. Public review of documents are planned for later this year.

Document Content:

Description of Trail Alternatives - March 2012   (104.7 KB, PDF file) Map of Trail Alternatives - March 2012   (616.3 KB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.