Concerns about bike lanes on Anthony Wayne Trail

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - All that road work you see on the Anthony Wayne Trail between Glendale and Detroit Avenue in Toledo is headed to a courtroom later this month.

The fight is over how much land the city of Toledo wants for the project. It’s road project that won’t just include roads but a bike path as well.

The stretch that’s causing the biggest concern is right at the Toledo Country Club. The issues are to the point where both the city and the country club are still wrapped up in legal issues.

Biker Brad Rubini gives Toledo area drivers great reviews when to comes to sharing the road

“Toledo drivers are pretty friendly and safe. Very seldom are they not 3-4 feet away from you instead of pulling right up on you,” said Rubini.

How about biking along the Anthony Wayne Trail? As part of all the construction and resurfacing of the roadway itself a bike lane will be added.

To make all that happen the city sued the Toledo Country Club back in 2021 to claim eminent domain and take some property along the trail side where it’s three lanes each way.

Traffic patterns will shift too according to that 2021 lawsuit. The city says this project contains “a complete reconstruction and lane reduction of the Anthony Wayne Trail from Detroit Avenue to Glendale avenue as well as the construction of a multi use path.

“Economic impact, safety, beauty. Do I want to ride on a trail that has cars whipping by me at 50 miles an hour?” said Rubini.

Bikers like Rubini worry about the safety of riders on the trail when this is all said and done.

The city of Toledo told 13abc in a statement “.... A great deal of planning, research and resources have gone into making the AWT improvements. The city continues to support these efforts. However, as a result of pending litigation and a court date later this month we cannot comment on this further.”

The city and country club are back in court on July 28th. In court filings, the country club hired an expert who wrote that a multi-use path right next to the course would subject users to unexpected and unwarranted dangers from errant golf balls.

“I’m sure it’s going to look beautiful. Maybe it’ll be like the Mud Hens stadium or the walleye but you’re not going to get any activity or economic growth from it but it might look good but if you did that on river road you can convert some of these old businesses into new businesses or apartments,” said Rubini.

Even as that lawsuit makes its way through the court, the work on the road itself continues on.

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