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Restoring a Transportation Corridor By Matt Ayer The Murray Multi-Use Path project is progressing, as Village officials met with its engineering contractor to review drawings on January 8. Construction drawings are expected later this month, followed by the Mariemont Village Engineer assembling specifications and seeking competitive bids for the construction phase, targeted for Spring 2021. The most recent drawings include significant improvements to resolve surface water drainage issues in the existing median. Watch for future project developments at www.murraypath.org or follow Murray Path on Facebook.
Above: The Murray Rd. section of the trolley line that connected Mariemont to downtown circa 1920s. At right: One of three trolley cars bought and refurbished by the Mariemont Co. to promote Mariemont.
While Mariemont builds this trail segment and connects to the existing Fairfax multi-use path, public grants and private donations are making Phases 4 and 5 of Wasson Way a reality, with construction slated to start later in 2021. These phases will extend Wasson Way through Ault Park and connect to the Murray Path. As we approach the Village’s Centennial celebration in two years, this northern edge of the Historic District will be restored as a transportation corridor for travel to and from our Village. Flashback to 1923. The headlines of the Cincinnati Times Star (April 24) proclaimed, “Cincinnati Woman Realizes Dream of a Lifetime When Work on Mariemont, Model
Town, Begins.” The Cincinnati, Milford, and Blanchester (CM&B) Traction Line ran along the north boundary. As of February 1926, the Cincinnati Motor Bus Company was busily expanding service on the east side of Cincinnati, boasting eight buses to Madisonville and one to Coney Island. In April 1926, 18 of the latest model, six-wheel buses were put into service from Government Square to Mariemont. However, transportation officials in that era still viewed streetcars as the preferred option over busses for large numbers of commuters; buses were generally considered feeders to and from areas of lower population density.
The further reaches of this CM&B line became unprofitable and service discontinued from Milford to Blanchester in January 1926. In March of that year, the Cincinnati Street Railway Company purchased the CM&B line from Erie Avenue to Milford for $49,000, viewing it as an opportunity for profit in this section. It was a no-risk proposition -- their offer was the sum of the scrap value of the 11 miles of track (T-rail, poles, ties, trolley and feed wires, and property). The Mariemont Company, with hopes of 20,000 people living in the area, purchased and Cont'd on page 5