Twinsburg Hopes to Transform Liberty Park Trail

Work could begin as early as this fall on resurfacing and moving parts of the trail in Liberty Park on Liberty Road.

The city will file a formal grant request with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources before Feb. 1 asking for $150,000 of the $310,000 project.

Twinsburg Parks and Recreation Director Derek Schroeder said a major reason for the overhaul is to make a better path for the proposed nature center that will be built by Metro Parks Serving Summit County.

“We said, ‘That’s a hot item. People are going to want to get there and there’s new trails back there so we should have a good connection between the ball fields and the nature center,’” Schroeder said.

Resurfacing the 1 1/2-mile path and moving part of it back into the woods of Liberty Park will also offer a new perspective to walkers, bikers, hikers and others.

“I think this is important for all those passive recreation people who want to just get out there and look at birds and get exercise that way,” Schroeder said. “We sometimes forget about those things. We spend a lot of money in other places and we don’t do things like this.”

The city will spend $160,000 on the project with money from gas royalties it receives from wells on the park’s property. Schroeder said if all goes according to plan, it could be completed by spring 2012, so residents can enjoy the new area.

“This will really get them out in nature, a ‘see why you live here’ sort of thing,” Schroeder said.  “Not many places have what we have here, especially in Northeast Ohio.”