Columbus, Ohio Greenway

My top 50 greenway city and state is Columbus, Ohio. COG stands for Central Ohio Greenway Project. This organization started in 2007 to present. Thier goal is to connect 12 surrounding counties by local trails and trail systems. COG feels that recreational trails can be thier most valuable natural resource to promote exercise, commutes and the ability to enjoy the outdoors. The Olentangy Trail is a paved 18.4 miles and connects Worthington to Columbus and Ohio State University. The Alum Creek Trail is a paved 24.36 miles and connects to shopping in Easton and the Bexley area. The Scioto Trail travels through the heart of Columbus. Blacklick (currently under construction) will be a paved total of 15.36 miles that will eventually connect to the Alum Trail. For the expert trail rider, there is the Big Darby Trail with 4 miles of crushed gravel. The trail will eventually connect to Heritage Trail that currently offers (total 7 miles) 3.3 miles of horse trails. Central Ohio Greenways are very serious about thier bike riders and are trying diligently to have this project completed by 2012. The COG is working with MORPC which stands for Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission. There are 5 parts to their strategic plan. 1. Improve sustainability 2. Increase mobility 3. Improve communication 4. Grow membership and 5. Be a leader in regional, state and national policies. The main focuses of this group are air, energy, greenways and water. Ohio State University and the city of Columbus will be the first, United States hosts, of a meeting of the world's most respected minds in ecological science. The meeting will be held September 30th - October 5th in 2012. There are 10,000 plus members that are based in Washington, DC that have elected to co-host this international event. For more information and a map that shows the connecting Columbus trails go to www.centralohiogreenways.com.