Rubber City Heritage Trail will run through disinvested communities on Akron’s east side

Work is set to begin this spring on the second phase of the Rubber City Heritage Trail, a 6-mile, multi-use recreational trail that will utilize one of Akron’s abandoned railways.  

While the former rail line connected Akron’s rubber industry — tire companies such as B.F. Goodrich, Goodyear, General Tire and Firestone — the finished trail will connect some of Akron’s neighborhoods (Goodyear Heights, Middlebury, University of Akron, downtown Akron, Firestone Park, Summit Lake and Kenmore). 

One of the challenges of building this trail is that it runs through the heart of the community, said Dan Rice, the president and CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition.

But the beauty of this project, and an unusual aspect of it, is that the city already owns roughly 80% of the land on the Rubber City Heritage Trail, Rice said. Because of this, there is significant potential for the trail and its ability to connect people to resources, he said.

“And quite honestly, I mean we’re talking about some very highly disinvested communities. You know, primarily Black and brown communities,” Rice said. “And so, to have this type of amenity is just amazing.”

In designing this amenity, ensuring that neighborhood residents are involved in the process is one of the highest priorities, he said, because there has been a legacy of things in Akron being done to people instead of with them.

Working to be good neighbors

Rice said there is no intention to use eminent domain — the right of the government to take private property, with compensation, for public use — to restore the path’s right of way. The planners want to work in partnership with the adjacent property owners to find an alternative. This may mean finding alternate routes to expand the trail. 

And for property owners worried about trail users trickling onto private property or “looking in people’s backyards” (which Rice said is more perception than reality), natural barriers will provide separation. 

“We want to assure people that we want to be good neighbors,” Rice said. 

The motivating factor of a project like this is the potential to have your hand in something that will continue to be used for 25, 50 and 100 years, Rice said. 

“It’s an incredible honor and privilege to be able to work on these legacy-type projects,” Rice said. “And I mean that sincerely.” 

Akronites could use the Rubber City Heritage Trail to get to work 

While trail development is tricky, it’s not new, Rice said. Similar projects that turned former rail lines into accessible parks or trails — like the 606 in Chicago or the High Line in New York City — have been successful. 

“I just think they are great places for people to gather. I think it’s important to have spots, overlooks, benches and really just enjoy the scenery along the trail,” Rice said. 

Trails are not only on the list of things that are “nice to have,” he said. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people could not go to baseball games, the theater or the mall, they spent time in public spaces. When finished, the trail will connect to the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, which taps the city into the larger trail network, Rice said. 

Local trails are not just beneficial for health and wellness or recreation but as a mode of transportation, he said.

When the Towpath Trail is down for maintenance, Rice’s team receives calls and emails from people wondering when the trail will be accessible again because they use it for transportation, like commuting to work. 

At this time there is only anecdotal data about the community members who use local trails to get from point A to point B, but Rice said it is something to capture in the future.

The completed Rubber City Heritage Trail could also be used to visit Dave’s Market, walk to school or grab a scoop of ice cream, Rice said.

Phase two will cost more than $2 million, be completed by summer of 2026

Phase two will cover the stretch from the Exchange and Arlington street intersection to the Exchange Street and Huntington Avenue intersection in Middlebury. 

This phase will cost a projected $2.18 million — about $863,000 this year, as outlined in the 2025 capital budget, and $1.12 million in subsequent years ($202,000 has already been spent on this phase of the project). The city is looking to apply for grants to help cover the cost, including a $750,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation. 

Construction on this phase will include benches, enhanced pedestrian walkways, sidewalk connections to Middlebury Marketplace and a gateway plaza. Construction is expected to begin this spring and end by the summer of 2026. 

The capital budget also includes $50,000 for improvements to the Middlebury Run Park Trail,  painting the Innovation Way tunnel on the Rubber City Heritage Trail and replacing outdoor interpretive historical signs and powerwashing the trail. Phase three of the trail, which covers Exchange Street to Brown Street, also received $50,000 in funding.

The now-completed phase one of the plan, which includes improvements like two rail-to-pedestrian bridge conversions and new wayfinding signage, was dedicated in June. It begins at the intersection of Third Avenue and the Middlebury Run Park Trail and ends at Exchange Street by Fire Station 2. 

Federal funding could impact trail’s future

At community forums in the early stages of the planning process, the timeline and the cost were the main concerns, Rice said.  

Because this is a multi-year project, they’re taking it phase by phase, and with the Central Interchange construction, there are some things to work around. Rice said it is likely that they’ll finish the eastern phases and then skip over to the western side of the trail before “squeezing out” the middle section. 

The funding is also set aside phase by phase. Of the $863,000 budgeted for this year, $113,000 will come from the city’s general obligation debt, $700,000 from federal funding, $45,000 from state funding and $5,000 from private funding.

Rice said he has concerns about the federal funding, after a federal order, which has been rescinded, froze grants and loans in January. The key is to continue advocating for parks, trails and public spaces as essential services, he said.  

“Our elected officials need to hear from our residents,” Rice said. “… I think it’s incumbent upon us to communicate to our elected officials that these are priorities within our community, and we need to be able to find the money at the local, private, state and federal level to make these projects a reality.”