Rerouting Lake Shore Drive

CELINA - Nearly four years ago, mayor Jeff Hazel revealed to Grand Lake Rotarians a dream of relocating Lake Shore Drive behind the inlet commonly called the hot water hole.

Benefits of such a move, officials have argued, would be better public access to the waterfront and improved safety.

Now that city officials are ramping up development of the Bryson Park District, some might believe this to be ideal time to incorporate the concept alongside the imminent installation of playground equipment, restrooms, lighting, pickle ball, volleyball and basketball courts and other amenities.

"That can't happen without a grant," Hazel responded when asked by the newspaper for a plan update on Wednesday. "We're not going to redirect any monies that's going for our infrastructure into this. I'm not going to take money away from our street program to do that."

Hazel was quick to point out, however, that officials would likely leap at the prospect of relocating Lake Shore Drive should an applicable grant program open up. Potential sources could be park-related state or federal grants or the Community Development Block Grant program.

"It isn't our top priority, but if we do find a grant where this fits … we want to go after that," Hazel said. "If we found a grant that would pay for that this year starting next year, we'd probably look to get that done."

Hazel also noted that Lake Shore Drive could be relocated at any time without disrupting major amenities expected to go up in the new few years.

If eventually green-lighted, the drive would be relocated north of the hot water hole and wind through the park. A few years ago the proposal was pegged at close to $500,000, but the cost likely has risen due to inflation.

City officials in the past outlined reasons to reroute the drive.

Many people use the drive to bypass the downtown and often travel faster than the posted speed limit of 20 mph, city council president Jason King said at a 2017 committee meeting. Rerouting the drive through the park district and adding stop signs and crosswalks may get people to slow down and stop using the drive as a shortcut, he had opined.

"People by and large do pretty well on Lake Shore Drive. But when you have children around - and the more children that come into this - there's always that more potential for an accident," Hazel said on Wednesday. "How do you make it safer?"

King had also spoken about replacing the hot water hole channel bridge with a pedestrian/bicycle bridge connected to the boardwalk along West Bank Road.

Hazel said the current bridge, which is probably 40 to 50 years old, is deteriorating but still has some life. It would easily cost $1 million to replace the structure, he said.

So at that point it doesn't make sense to spend that kind of money if it goes down. It still has life. I don't know the longevity of that," Hazel said. "Certainly one of the ideas on this is to allow the continuation of the boardwalk by that old Lake Shore Drive in that area. That bridge could be used now or replaced with a steel-graded walking bridge over the top."

While the drive relocation might be a few years or more off, Bryson Park District is poised for major upgrades in the very near future.

Officials in 2021 plan to install playground equipment, restrooms, lighting, pickle ball, volleyball and basketball courts and other amenities. A fitness trail also may take shape next year.

The one-two gut punch of a delayed $500,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant and COVID-19 brought to a grinding halt a spate of park improvements planned for 2020.

"COVID really messed us up. We would have got some of this done last year, but it really messed up some of the time," Hazel said.

Work could get started as soon as spring.

"This is going to be a great year for this park," Hazel insisted. "We've got our restroom facilities that are getting ready to be released for bid on March 11. We've go another large multipiece playground that's going to connect to the one we have now, to go even further with that."

The city must provide a $500,000 match for the ODNR Land and Water Conservation program. The application was a collaborative effort among representatives from the city, Grand Lake Rotary Club and Celina Lions Club.

Officials can meet through in-kind work and projects, including a restroom facility and the Celina Lions Club's proposed $400,000 multipurpose open-air facility with shelter house, restrooms and concession area for year-round use.

"The majority of this is all being done with grant fund and donations. We've got, of course, in-kind labor that's going into there," Hazel said. "We're making this just a tremendous park for the community that really makes us a destination."