Bike path on pause while city and Toledo Country Club dispute land rights

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Next to the Toledo Country Club alongside the Anthony Wayne Trail, there’s a bike path under construction. Right now it’s on hold.

“This is a safety issue. We shouldn’t be doing this,” said Philip McWeeny, President of Toledo Country Club. “We’re concerned that we could hit somebody or that we could hit a car and car could come and drive into people.”

McWeeny explains the City of Toledo started building the bike path along the edge of the privately owned golf course without giving the club a heads up.

“We never received notice from the City of Toledo that they wish to take our property prior to the time they send a person out to tell us that they were going to take our property,” added McWeeny.

Construction stopped right before McWeeny says the plan shows the path curving across club property and connecting to the Chessie Circle Trail. It stopped because of a lawsuit. While that plays out in court, House Bill 64 is making its way through the state legislature. If that passes, it would stop the city from claiming eminent domain for the path.

“I’m also a lawyer. I am happy to sit down and talk with the City at any time they choose to have a conversation with the idea of trying to resolve the issue if we can figure out an imaginative way to resolve it so that the safety issues are minimized,” said McWeeny.

In response, Rachel Hart, Interim Director of Marketing and Communications for the City of Toledo emailed 13abc:

“The new bike trail has been part of the city’s master bike trail plan since 2015 and will help to complete a connection from Maumee to downtown Toledo. The completed trail will serve as a critical link between neighborhoods and provide residents with a new way to access downtown, the Toledo Zoo, and more.

Toledo residents deserve high-quality, well-connected bike infrastructure that makes biking a feasible form of transportation for traveling throughout the city. We will continue to move forward in that pursuit and address the impact of HB 64 at such a time that it conflicts with our ability to reach that goal.”

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