City of Parks is a municipal project to create a continuous paved pedestrian and biking trail around the city of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

while also adding a large amount of park land. The project was announced on February 22, 2005. Current plans call for making approximately of the

Floyds Fork Floyds Fork is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Salt River in Kentucky, directly south and east of Louisville. It begins in Henry County, ne ...

floodplain in eastern Jefferson County into park space, expanding area in the

Jefferson Memorial Forest The Jefferson Memorial Forest is a forest located in southwest Louisville, Kentucky, in the Knobs region of Kentucky. At , it is the largest municipal urban forest in the United States. The forest was established as a tribute to Kentucky's vete ...

, and adding riverfront land and wharfs along the Riverwalk Trail and Levee Trail. There are also plans to connect the Louisville trail to a planned seven mile (11 km) trail connecting the

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a region consisting of the southern third of the state of Indiana. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be p ...

cities of New Albany, Clarksville and Jeffersonville.

Louisville Loop

The Louisville Loop is a planned bike and pedestrian trail which will circle the city of

when completed, using the trail to connect many of the city's existing parks and future parks.

History

The city's first bike path effort, Beargrass Bikeway, which connects Cherokee Park to the

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

, was opened in 1980 but received little use. The section connecting the Belvedere to

Shawnee Park Shawnee Park is a municipal park in Louisville, Kentucky. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed 18 of the city's 123 public parks. Along with the rest of the city's Olmsted-designed park system, Shawnee Park was added to the Nati ...

was first proposed in 1988.

Existing sections

The Louisville Loop currently extends a total of 30 miles from the Farnsley-Moremen House to Downtown. The first completed section of the Louisville Loop was created in the 1980s and is known as the Riverwalk. It is a bike and jogging trail running along the city's

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

waterfront from the

to Chickasaw Park. It passes through Lannan Park in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and

along the way. A portion of the trail runs along city streets Portland, with about of the total route existing on city sidewalks. The trail passes through the former Portland Wharf area, which was razed for

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

development, and the old street grid is still visible. Along the way, there are mileage markers on the surface of the trail every tenth of a mile, as well as markers giving information on 19th century river culture, such as units of measurement, river jobs, and types of riverboats. The second oldest section of the Louisville Loop is the Levee Trail, which spanning the flood protection from runs from Riverside Park in Pleasure Ridge Park to the Farnsley-Moremen House to Lees Lane. Millcreekbridge

In 2007, the Mill Creek Trail was completed, connecting the Levee Trail and The Riverwalk, ending at Lee Lane in Riverside Gardens. A small stretch of the Mill Creek Trail had been completed in 2002 by LG&E, on whose property much of the trail is located, which ran from Greenwood Rd. to Mill Creek. An extension added by the city in 2007 included a $2 million bridge over Mill Creek.

Future sections

The total trail length for a completed Louisville Loop is estimated at 110 mile one way. The next sections of the Louisville Loop are slated for completion by 2013 and they will connect the

, McNeely Park, Floyds Fork watershed, EP Sawyer State Park, and River Road corridor using the proposed trails: *

Trail *Floyds Fork Trail *Eastern Suburbs Trail *River Road/Waterfront Trail

Gallery

Image:MetroLoopP1653.jpg, The RiverWalk near the vertical liftgate bridge Image:MetroLoopP182.jpg, Rail crossing for the trail in Rubbertown Image:MetroLoopP184.jpg, Section of the trail in West Louisville Image:RiverWalkCausway.jpg, The RiverWalk going under the I-64 Causeway Image:MetroLoopLBT.jpg, Junction of the trails leading to Mill Creek bridge and landing Image:PortlandWharf.jpg, RiverWalk at the Old Portland Wharf File:1863 Mansion, Portland, Louisville.jpg, A Civil War era house off the RiverWalk Image:RiverWalkskyl.jpg, Louisville skyline viewed from the RiverWalk

References

{{Reflist

External links

Louisville Loop official site

21st Century Parks
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The Parklands of Floyds Fork
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��Louisville.gov October 24, 2013 * ttp://brokensidewalk.com/2012/01/13/bridges-progressing-at-the-parklands-of-floyds-fork/ Bridges Progressing At The Parklands of Floyds Fork– BrokenSidewalk January 2012
City of Parks page at LouisvilleKY.gov
(includes a map)
Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy

Construction begins on Parklands of Floyds Fork – August 2010

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170511234458/https://louisvilleky.gov/News/WideNewsItem.htm?PostingGuid=%257bC2B603F2-674F-4071-BAB9-C94AE3F9CA75%257d New Property Connects Sections of Jefferson Memorial Forest -- November 2009] (includes a map) Parks in Louisville, Kentucky Tourist attractions in Louisville, Kentucky Projects established in 2005 2005 establishments in Kentucky Proposed parks in the United States