WQIO Ohio's Super Station
Mansfield is taking another step toward connecting the Richland B&O Trail with downtown.
Mansfield City Council approved spending up to $175,000 for design and engineering services for an approximately 11-foot-wide concrete path along Trimble Road, extending from Marion Avenue to Millsboro Road.
City Engineer Bob Bianchi told council members Tuesday that the design work is expected to be completed by May 2027. The city would then seek approval for a construction project estimated at about $1.2 million.
The project is expected to receive approximately $960,000 in state funding through Ohio’s Transportation Alternatives Program. The remaining construction costs would be split between the city’s permissive sales tax and street fund.
The proposed path would fill an existing gap in the pedestrian connection between the B&O Trail and the Mansfield Art Center at Marion Avenue and Millsboro Road.
The long-term vision extends beyond that project.
Bianchi said the city hopes to eventually continue the walking path along Marion Avenue to the five-way intersection and then along Park Avenue into downtown Mansfield, potentially ending near Mulberry or Walnut streets.
The goal is to create a continuous pedestrian connection from the B&O Trail into the heart of the city.
“This project is to continue the vision of extending a walking path, a separate trail from the roadway, essentially for pedestrians from the B&O Trail all the way to the downtown,” Bianchi told council.
The existing connector between the B&O Trail and Trimble Road has already been constructed, as has the path along Millsboro Road toward Marion Avenue.
The Trimble Road project would complete another portion of the larger trail connection.
