First Posted: 3/3/2015
LIMA — Big ideas happen in commemoration of big events.
For the Lima Rotary Club, one of its biggest community projects came in 1990 to celebrate the club’s 75th anniversary. That’s when it announced the Lima Rotary Club would build the Rotary River Walk along the Ottawa River.
The project was done in phases through the collaborative efforts of the Lima Rotary Club, the city of Lima, the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District and many others who contributed land or time to the project.
Now complete, the Rotary River Walk today is 17 miles long, connecting six parks and downtown Lima. Every day people enjoy walking, running, rollerblading and biking along the path.
“Projects like this don’t just happen. They take leadership and commitment,” state Rep. Matt Huffman said when the final phase was completed in July 2010.
Rotarians raised more than $500,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to get this project started.
The walk originally began as a sidewalk for the pavilion in Faurot Park, but because Rotarians think big, the idea quickly expanded.
The walk was extended to the Collett Street tennis courts and onto Heritage Park. The city of Lima then extended the walk to Schoonover Park, and by 2010, the Rotary River Walk had been extended to Ottawa Metro Park. A $1.3 million Clean Ohio Fund grant was received for the construction of the final phase and the rotary club donated $430,000 to help match the grant.
It took six years of planning and two years of construction to make turn the final section into reality.
Because of railroads and Interstate 75, three pedestrian bridges and a path under the interstate had to be created according to Ohio transportation codes.
“We had to engineer our bikeway to their specifications,” said Kevin Haver of the park district.
The completed section connects residential areas to the parks, which landscape architect Jim Bassett said is one of its most important functions.
“This last section is really very important because it makes the final link in the total project,” he said. “It’s a great park to enjoy.”
