An early plan for a trail on the McIvor Woods property presented at Tuesday night’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting shows gravel trails snaking through the nature preserve. Marysville Public Service Director Mike Andrako said if the plan goes through, it could improve connectivity in the area.
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The nature preserve on the MacIvor Woods property could finally see some use.
Dr. Malcolm MacIvor put the property in a nature conservancy in 2002, the same year he died. His family later donated the land to the city of Marysville in 2004.
City Public Service Director Mike Andrako presented preliminary plans for a walking trail on the property to the city’s parks and recreation commission Tuesday evening.
The property is located off West Fifth Street, and is accessible through the Kroger Marketplace parking lot. The city’s plan has asphalt trails entering the park, which then turn into gravel trails that wind around the property. The trail will be dotted with culverts as needed. In all, the trail will come in at a little more than a mile in length.
Andrako said he recently walked the proposed trail, creating a loose map with his GPS.
“It’s really cool,” Andrako said.
As it stands, the city is not allowed to affect the natural state of the property in any significant way. The plan would allow citizens to explore that natural beauty.
Andrako used Columbus as an example.
“Think of this as maybe a metro park,” he said. “I see some overlooks, maybe some boardwalks in some areas, there will definitely be a footbridge or culverts.”
Andrako said there’s an area in the south-west portion of the property that’s overgrown with vegetation. While the property in general is relatively easy to walk through, the particular area in question is heavily overgrown.
“It’s really just kind of overgrown and has invasive fricker-type bushes,” Andrako said.
He said he hopes the city workers will get into the area this fall and cut a path through the brush. Once they do that, Andrako said they hope to ship stone in for the other trails throughout the property.
“Again, I’ll try not to disturb anything while I’m in there,” he said. “Basically, (we’ll) just try to provide pedestrian access to the site.”
The city is also looking at connecting the trail to Emmaus Road. This will provide a link between Green Pastures and Kroger, allowing easier pedestrian access.
With the city looking to improve walkability along West Fifth Street toward Kroger, Andrako said this project could prove to be a great supplement.
Commission member Amy Royhans recommended the city consider planning for cross-country skiing on the property.
“I think people do that here on the trail,” she said. “It’d be a neat place for that.”
Andrako said he’d check to see whether that would be possible with the city’s parks and grounds department.
How quickly the project gets completed could be weather-dependent. Andrako said if the city has another light winter, it “might be able to knock this whole thing out this winter.
“I’m super-excited about this,” he said. “I think it’s going to be really good.”