SUNBURY — Preservation Parks of Delaware County is accepting applications for its Community Trail Improvement Program (CTIG). The grant assists local governments and communities in the acquisition, design, construction, and maintenance of paved and gravel trails in Delaware County.
Cities, villages, townships, park districts, and non-profit organizations whose project boundaries are completely within Delaware County are welcome to apply for this reimbursement grant.
“Preservation Parks serves everyone in Delaware County and these community grants, started decades ago by our first director after passage of the district’s first levy, are one of the ways we fulfill our mission to inspire outdoor exploration by supporting community partners in park-related initiatives at the local level,” said Mary Van Haaften.
Since 2001, Preservation Parks has elected to provide up to $100,000 per year to local governments and communities for improvements to their parks and trails. In 2018, the grant program was modified to focus on trails. Over the past 23 years, a combined total of $1,215,000 has been awarded to local governments including the Cities of Delaware and Sunbury; the Village of Galena; and Concord, Genoa, Harlem, Liberty, Orange, Oxford, Radner, and Scioto townships.
“We would like to see more jurisdictions take advantage of available funding to continue to make connections and to improve connectivity. Trails are the most requested amenity in our surveys, but the acquisition, design, construction, and maintenance costs money. With this grant, and others like it, we can encourage local jurisdictions to connect neighborhoods to schools, parks, libraries, and job opportunities,” said Matt Simpson, senior park planner at Preservation Parks.
Eligible projects include the acquisition of property and easements for off-road trails; maintenance of existing regional trails; design and engineering for the construction of linear and loop trails, and construction of multi-use asphalt and gravel trails. Preference is given to projects that are part of a long-range plan.
Projects that have been awarded grant funding include the Concord Road Multi-Use Path Connection, Home Road Multi-Use Trail, Fallen Heroes Multi-Use Trail Phases 2 and 4, Home Road Library Trail and Gap Trail, and the Bale Kenyon Road Bike/Pedestrian Trail.
Eligible applicants are invited to review the application requirements on the Preservation Parks’ website at https://preservationparks.com/bidding-contractor-information/. The deadline to apply is Oct. 1.
Submitted by Preservation Parks of Delaware County.
