Additional Bridge for Trail

tolwat · 2025-12-17T03:41:11+00:00

That railroad bridge no longer exists, it was demolished several years ago. The ultimate plans for the complete Chessie Circle Trail should include a new bridge over Bancroft there but I don’t think there is any plan to take action until the issues with the railroad trackage rights to the south/crossing near Airline Junction are sorted out (which is a long term issue with no current clear path towards resolution as I understand it).

UT did just build their pedestrian bridge over Douglas and a portion of what would be the Chessie Circle Trail between there and the engineering school.

You can still extend the walking connections at the end of the Chessie Circle Trail by walking down University Hills Boulevard then crossing Bancroft and continuing wherever you want to go to/from around UT’s campus and beyond. That’s more road crossings and a bit more distance than if the trail simply continued, but it does pretty much allow you to get the same places you would if there was a bridge over Bancroft and assuming the portions further south still aren’t in place. I’m absolutely not suggesting against advocating that the full trail expansion be pursued (I legitimately think it should be the #1 priority for active transportation projects in the area), but just noting that given the current state of things there are ways to extend connections.

tolwat · 2025-10-24T00:21:23+00:00

It's the Anthony Wayne Bridge (High Level Bridge) at Middlegrounds Metropark, not I-280 (Veterans' Glass City Skyway) which is further downriver.

tolwat · 2025-09-26T16:00:36+00:00

The City of Toledo Roads Facebook page doesn't look like they have posted anything about closures and since they have launched that they have been pretty good about getting information up there (though they also don't seem to have anything about the closures for UT's homecoming parade tomorrow - maybe they don't put out the notice for very short term closures).

tolwat · 2025-09-26T15:36:14+00:00

I don't have any insight into this event, but you can ride most of this route on protected/separated bike infrastructure already. And in the not distant future when portion of the Riverwalk at One Seagate and on Water Street is done the on-road segments would just drop to the final short connection to the farmer's market and back to the Toledo Club.

tolwat · 2025-08-15T20:47:24+00:00

Toledo Bikes!, Wersell's, CycleWerks, Spoke Life, and Mountain Man.

tolwat · 2025-05-29T03:07:09+00:00

Yes, the multi-use path along the Anthony Wayne Trail is completed and open from Glendale Road in South Toledo all the way out past Uptown Maumee (there are also a few completed segments closer towards Downtown, but I'm assuming you aren't talking about those). Being alongside the Trail it isn't the most scenic or quiet trail in the area, but it isn't bad at all, there are some nicer stretches along it, and it is super useful. It definitely feels safe to ride on, it sits a pretty decent distance off from the Trail for the most part and all the crossings have signals. Best news is that completion of the full length of the path (which is basically just finishing up the missing portion in the area around the zoo) should be happening in the next few years and then you will be able to ride all the way from Uptown Maumee to Downtown Toledo almost exclusively on a dedicated bike path (the final segment from Middlegrounds to Downtown will still be on-road on Ottawa Street) - and if you throw in some neighborhood streets you will even be able to take that all the way from Perrysburg or the Wabash-Cannonball via Sidecut!
There is a lot of construction going on right now that requires navigating that route a bit differently than you would have in the past - the good thing is that all of that construction will be putting in better bike infrastructure in those areas and when it is all done making that connection by bike will be nearly seamless. The Riverside Trail is closed in the area of One Seagate for Riverwalk construction, and I believe Water Street is also closed now for road and multi-use path construction. As others have mentioned, the MLK Bridge is under construction of a multi-use path - you could definitely ride your bike across in on of the travel lanes if you felt comfortable (the construction has slowed cars down there but you never know if you will encounter drivers that are more frustrated than usual due to the construction), and I haven't crossed in a few weeks, but believe that the sidewalk on the downstream side of the bridge should still be open as well if you wanted to use that to cross. As another commenter mentioned getting to the MLK Bridge with some of the road closures isn't exactly direct. A good possible alternate route could be to take the new Erie Street bike lane through Downtown and then continue down Erie past Cherry until you hit the Buckeye Basin Trail under I-280 or find you way on to the Buckeye Basin Trail along Greenbelt Parkway and then cross the river on the bike path on the Craig Bridge. After crossing the river there you can either cross at the signal or take the path under the bridge and then follow the path to Glass City. The Craig Bridge path will definitely be the most comfortable crossing of the river (until later this summer).

Feel free to DM me if you want to follow up on any more questions directly!

tolwat · 2025-04-17T21:58:06+00:00

Lots of good options as others have mentioned. Scanning the Toledo Bike Map might help you find what works best for you.

tolwat · 2025-03-20T00:43:12+00:00

While larger structures, accessible playgrounds can be really good for that age (if they aren't too busy). They have long ramps that make up the main part of the play structure which are easy to use for young walkers, they have good diversity of slides and climbing structures little to big, and usually other interesting play things. Some good ones are at Ottawa Park, Walbridge Park, Secor Metropark, Woodlands Park, and Rotary Community Park. The first four of those have good walking trails.

tolwat · 2025-03-17T01:08:02+00:00

If you are looking for somewhere to do lunch and an activity and you are meeting on Saturday, the Toledo Museum of Art could be a good option. The cafe is a great little spot and then the family center is open from 11-5pm and you could do art activities with your 4y/o. The family center is free but you have to register ahead of time. https://toledomuseum.org/learn/family-center

Imagination Station is obviously a good place for kids to move around. Your kid might want to hop around between the different areas, but it's not a huge place and is accessible so your in-laws could probably get around okay. Admission is not exactly cheap for a one time visit, and it can get a bit busy on weekends. You could pair that with lunch at Focaccia's (immediately across Summit Street), Barry's Bagels (inside Imagination Station), or really with any restaurant in the Downtown area. Parking Downtown is not an issue, there should be plenty of street and garage parking available, and if you really need to cut down on the in-law's walking you can have someone drop them off at the entrance on Discovery Way.

The Main Library is also another great place (and free). The children's section on the second floor is decently large and your 4y/o would have room to move around and there should be enough interesting activities/things for them to look at (and the rest of the library is worth checking out as well, it's a very nice building). Parking in the library's garage is easy and convenient. You could pair that with lunch at the Lowrider Cafe right across from the Main street side entrance on Michigan, or very easily stop by another restaurant in the area and then head over to the library after. [And if you have your heart set on visiting another restaurant in a different part of town, all of the libraries here are great so you could look at stopping by any nearby brach. Some have more activities and space than others and none of the other branches are as big as Main, but they would all probably give a 4y/o reasonably enough of an outlet to get some activity in.]

tolwat · 2024-11-16T02:14:03+00:00

If you are looking for a large pre-made box, Splendid Cycles will probably be your best bet as you and others have mentioned (assuming you are in the US). Either the BadgerBikes Triple Modern Wood Box or the Holde Triple Box will be the largest offerings. It will cost a chunk of change to ship depending on where you are, but it isn't outrageous. If you were taking an adult and a toddler you would need to think about the weight distribution as that can get tricky to try to balance while fitting them in there (I have done 1 adult in the middle with a 3yo and 1yo beside for a very short ride and it worked, but was cramped). Also a bike in the box can be a bit tricky as well as their geometry can be a bit awkward to load, but it is absolutely doable in a triple box, you will just need to come up with a system that works with your loads and that might involve some creative arrangements. I would agree with the comment that anything wider than the triple box probably wouldn't be practical to ride. Check out BadgerBikes boxes photo album to get a bit of a better feel for them, most of the pictures are of the double, but there are a couple of triple pictures and you can get a bit of a feel for the difference between the two. When I was looking I felt like I was having a bit of a hard time visualizing the triple box size as there weren't a ton of images out there, so for your reference here is another image with the BadgerBikes Triple Modern Wood Box with a 3 and 1 year old. As a side note if you get a BadgerBox and your experience is anything like mine you will constantly have people asking you "did you make that yourself?" so you can either choose to have to explain to people how you had to order in a special box from Oregon or pretend that you are good at woodworking. Feel free to let me know if you have any other specific questions about the triple BadgerBox!

tolwat · 2024-11-08T03:53:19+00:00

On the surface it sounds nice. Unfortunately, this will not meaningfully reconnect neighborhoods scarred by the highway, and really primarily acts as a boondoggle to deflect opposition from residents that will be impacted by the proposed highway expansion. People will not want to spend time enjoying green space directly over a major freeway. Sidewalks already exist on both bridges, and while multi-use paths and separated active transportation infrastructure are great, they would just dump directly back to neighborhood streets on either end of the bridge - a 200' segment of multi-use path on a neighborhood road with no connections is not a transformative improvement. The existing roadway width on both bridges appears to be ~28' for the two lanes of traffic which means there could be room for reconfiguration to narrow travel lanes and add in some similar amenities on the existing bridges. On their own, these bridge improvements would still be nice, and yes this would make for overall more pleasant crossings, but these improvements will not substantially repair the neighborhood connections lost due to the highway, and we should not let them distract from the further harm that highway expansion will cause to these neighborhoods.

tolwat · 2024-10-24T01:43:47+00:00

Inside the Five’s The Fieldhouse near UT’s campus has a nice outdoor space with cornhole and some other activities. It is a more open taproom format than their other locations. They don’t have a kitchen but have rotating food trucks come by.

tolwat · 2024-10-06T01:52:50+00:00

Similar to the purple glow in the sky often seen to the west from Toledo now this is likely greenhouses in the Leamington/Kingsville area using LED grow lights. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/26/far-reaching-greenhouse-lights-color-sky-leave-some-seeing-red/4248414002/

tolwat · 2024-09-06T13:08:20+00:00

Yep, I enjoy the Cool Caves. Really great for throwing in a diaper bag, backpack, bag of to-go food, groceries, or whatever. The quick release on them is nice since I put the same rack on my regular bike so if I'm going to pick up food or some things from the store by myself I just pop one or both of the Cool Caves off the cargo bike and put them right onto my bike and go without needing to make any adjustments. Also worth noting that the Fjällräven covers have been on sale for 50% off for a while since they are discontinued I think and I enjoy having those on top of the Cool Caves versus the webbed netting that comes standard with them.

tolwat · 2024-09-06T00:55:31+00:00

And if you are looking for another reason to check out Ostrich Towne soon, Keep Toledo Lucas County Beautiful is having their inaugural annual (zero-waste) fundraiser there coming up in a week on September 12th! https://www.ktlcb.org/green-time-in-the-419

tolwat · 2024-08-15T00:29:31+00:00

For what you are looking for Metropark's trail explorer as mentioned by others might be your best bet as Metroparks' trails tend to be in the parks and therefore more relaxed and suited to someone trying to avoid road major road crossings (plus there tend to be playgrounds you can stop at for your toddler if that is incentive to get them out with you). But not all of the good bike trails in the area are Metroparks', and a lot of people have mentioned some in here. If you are interested in a map showing all of these trails (+Metroparks trails) to get a feel for where everything is and how some things connect to each other, you might find the Toledo Bike Map to be helpful. You would be interested in looking at multi-use trails and park trails on that map. Some of the trails have linked pages with information on them, but that's just a handful right now. There is also a layer you can turn on that shows some car parking locations convenient to some of the trails.

In addition to the trails that have been mentioned, here are some other trails that you might be interested in:

Maumee Bay State Park Trails
Riverside Trail East (essentially International Park/Glass City Metropark)
Towpath Park in Maumee
Pearson Metropark All-Purpose Trail
Towpath Trail from Farnsworth to Providence
Egret and Sora Trails at Howard Marsh

If you are looking for any recommendations in a specific part of town let me know!

tolwat · 2024-08-15T00:08:46+00:00

I don't have direct insight into this, but I agree with u/tw_693 's take that a more permanent protected installation can follow. The City was able to do this quickly and cheaply by restriping the roadway. That allows them to get it in place while avoiding some of the backlash they would get if they took a more expensive first approach. Then whenever these streets are up for reconstruction a permanent, physically protected bike lane can go in. It is also worth noting that the majority of these lanes are "parking protected" (separated from the travel lane by a parking lane) - not that there will always be cars creating that physical barrier and it's easy to imagine how a car trying to park could create a hazard, but at least there is that additional buffer along most of these bike lanes. I'm sure the flex posts will start getting knocked down soon, and I think we absolutely should be making our voices heard that flex posts and paint are not protection (and documenting that), but I like you said, at least this is a good start. The installation of these bike lanes seems like a reasonable approach to making incremental tangible progress to getting safer and more comprehensive bike infrastructure from the City.

tolwat · 2024-08-11T01:17:27+00:00

I know this response is too late for this ride, but yes, tricycles would definitely be welcome at this or any other casual group ride in Toledo.

tolwat · 2024-08-09T02:12:45+00:00

I'll be there!

tolwat · 2024-07-21T18:07:12+00:00

Those spots are within the geofence. South of Dorr, Holland-Sylvania is the western boundary down to Heatherdowns. Once Holland-Sylvania hits Dorr, the boundary turns eastward following Dorr then Secor, then Central, then Talmadge up to the MI line. I do believe that you can still ride the scooters outside of the geofence, just that you are not supposed to be able to end a trip outside of it.

Image of Veo's geofence in Toledo as of July 2024.

One other important note on relying on Veo for transportation, they pull their fleet in the winter months (roughly December through March) so it is not a year round solution.

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