A Path to a Better Quality of Life

Both sides won.

A legal battle on property rights meandered the court system, including all the way to the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, regarding an old rail bed in Central Licking County.

Thanks to the Supreme Court deciding to not hear the case, thus accepting the appellant court and Licking County Common Pleas Court decision to uphold the property rights of the buyer/owner, there's a chance for a path to a better quality of life.

The property rights winner can now build the path it has long-intended to build.  Its the adjacent property owners who will benefit most of all though.

Here on South Fork Road  near the border of the City of Heath and Licking Township is a road shared by trucks and cars as well as (and I've seen these) strollers, walkers of all ages, and bicyclists.

Here's the former B&O Railroad rail line bed that's owned by the TJ Evans Foundation and a section of the property rights that came into dispute. 

It's where a bike path has been proposed to be built with private resources that will later be maintained by a public entity and for public use.  Right now, this rail bed hosts few walkers and, probably, more than a few trespassing ATV's.

Thanks to the Supreme Court action/inaction, there's a chance this path could become a safer way for strollers, bikers, and walkers to use the trail for health, recreation, and commuting to work.

Now, faintly seen in this photo, is where a recreational path can parallel the road.

The path is safer for this neighborhood.  The path is a way to/from work for increasingly more people.  The path is a way to a healthier lifestyle for young and old. 

The path will some day be a way to get to Dawes Aboretum, one of the nation's finest "tree museums." 

Dawes already owns land up to it.

Here's hoping it gets built soon.

The path is a path to a better quality of life for many people.  Everyone wins.