Paved Handicap Trail -Caesar Creek -Waynesville OH
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Terry Staley. I am an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN) and I clear and maintain over 20+ miles of trails at Caesar Creek State Park outside of Waynesville, Ohio. I have over 5,000 volunteer hours doing this work. In 2020 I had 1,163 volunteer hours alone. I am a retired AF veteran and retired civil service worker.
While clearing a 0.9 mile stretch of trail last year at the 50 Springs area, I noticed how it could be turned into a paved handicap accessible trail if I just cleared the brush wider, cleared an overlook area looking at the lake, Route 73 bridge and the new marina and removed more dead trees. I put a proposal together and submitted it to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director, Ms. Mary Mertz, to see if the state would fund updating two current restrooms to make them handicap accessible and add sidewalks to the two current pavilions. She agreed the state would do that. The Nature Center Association of Caesar Creek, a group of volunteers at the park, also agreed to help me out in getting funding for the entire 0.9 mile trail. They are looking at getting some grants to maybe offset some of the estimated $200,000 to get the trail cleared and paved. Not all of the trail will be ADA compliant since they require no more than an 8.33% grad change over 200 feet run.
I want this trail to be NON-NORMAL! I proposed it be 10 feet wide with a center-line stripe so wheelchair races can be held in the future, either in one direction or in both directions, increasing the distance covered. There are several areas with upslopes to tax the racers and downslopes to get speed up, but be safe. There is a short 0.1 mile level spot that children could race and be awarded prizes for their efforts. The woods give great color in the fall and there is always deer around going from the woods to the lake. It also has great lake views.
I want to work with the veteran associations and other handicap organizations to make this the place to go if you use a wheelchair. Most of the state parks do not have trails for the handicap visitors to use. We will make new handicap picnic tables and put in benches and wheelchair spots at the lake overlook area with a steel railing added to keep everyone safe at the lake's edge.
This seems like a lofty goal to reach, but the alternative of our future visitors who use wheelchairs NOT having a place to get outdoors and enjoy the parks the way the rest of us take for granted seems to be a non-starter. I would like to think that I did something in my life that helped a lot of people that I don't even know and will probably never meet, but will enjoy the fruits of my labor.
WILL you help me reach the goal needed to get this project started and completed maybe even by the end of 2021! Thank you and may God bless all of us.
While clearing a 0.9 mile stretch of trail last year at the 50 Springs area, I noticed how it could be turned into a paved handicap accessible trail if I just cleared the brush wider, cleared an overlook area looking at the lake, Route 73 bridge and the new marina and removed more dead trees. I put a proposal together and submitted it to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director, Ms. Mary Mertz, to see if the state would fund updating two current restrooms to make them handicap accessible and add sidewalks to the two current pavilions. She agreed the state would do that. The Nature Center Association of Caesar Creek, a group of volunteers at the park, also agreed to help me out in getting funding for the entire 0.9 mile trail. They are looking at getting some grants to maybe offset some of the estimated $200,000 to get the trail cleared and paved. Not all of the trail will be ADA compliant since they require no more than an 8.33% grad change over 200 feet run.
I want this trail to be NON-NORMAL! I proposed it be 10 feet wide with a center-line stripe so wheelchair races can be held in the future, either in one direction or in both directions, increasing the distance covered. There are several areas with upslopes to tax the racers and downslopes to get speed up, but be safe. There is a short 0.1 mile level spot that children could race and be awarded prizes for their efforts. The woods give great color in the fall and there is always deer around going from the woods to the lake. It also has great lake views.
I want to work with the veteran associations and other handicap organizations to make this the place to go if you use a wheelchair. Most of the state parks do not have trails for the handicap visitors to use. We will make new handicap picnic tables and put in benches and wheelchair spots at the lake overlook area with a steel railing added to keep everyone safe at the lake's edge.
This seems like a lofty goal to reach, but the alternative of our future visitors who use wheelchairs NOT having a place to get outdoors and enjoy the parks the way the rest of us take for granted seems to be a non-starter. I would like to think that I did something in my life that helped a lot of people that I don't even know and will probably never meet, but will enjoy the fruits of my labor.
WILL you help me reach the goal needed to get this project started and completed maybe even by the end of 2021! Thank you and may God bless all of us.
Organizer
Terry Staley
Organizer
Fairborn, OH
