By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
People who live in Erlanger recall the groundbreaking ceremony for the much anticipated Eons Park, a multi-acre recreational area which, when complete, will stretch from Erlanger all the way down to the Ohio River, that was held in October of 2024.
A long time ago.
It is time to get excited again because plans have taken root and are beginning to grow.
The city’s Park Master Planning Task Force held their meeting last week at the site of the initial groundbreaking which will be the dog park to let people see what has been done. Ground has been leveled and a sizable retaining wall holds back the hillside to provide for a flat, grassy area for dogs and pups alike to run and play.
The retaining wall has been decorated with the park’s signature colors of endless evergreen, leafy green, olive green, tulip yellow, sunglow, inchworm, and poplar peach, by a group of art students from Dixie Heights High school.
“In this area, we will have two different paddocks, one for large dogs and one for small dogs, and a holding area in the middle,” said Kevin Quinn, Director of Public Works. “We’re going to have two water fountains, one for each bay. The Dixie students did a great job, and we pressure washed the wall first to give it a better base for the students, and then we primered it with orange. They originally told us ten days, but it took a little longer and I think we have a great product.”
He explained that they had the area graded and seeded right before Thanksgiving, but he said they noticed when there was heavy rain that the water just ran out into the street taking the seed and dirt with it. So they put another drain in and more soil, and they are ready for round two of the seed and straw.
He said the grass might not be quite ready for the dog park’s scheduled opening in the spring, but they are doing everything they can to ready the planned grassy areas for the dogs, including installing sprinklers in case there isn’t as much rain as they would like. Quinn said there will also be a maintenance building on the premises, for workers and police. The parking lot is finished. The fencing will go in this spring, as the weather allows.
The spine is the trail across the street from the dog park, and there is a well marked crosswalk for people to get from one side of the street to the other. The trail is paved all the way to where it meets Turfway Road, but the trail is not completely finished, although the scenery along the trail is beautiful and stunningly picturesque in places, such as off the bridge, where water flows over rocks. From the beginning of the trail to Turfway is a little under a mile.
Quinn and council member Tyson Hermes, who is on the task force, led the group of people who attended, which included council members, residents of Cherry Hill and others, across the street and down the trail, pointing out features along the way. There is one place where a food truck could be stationed.
There are islands along the trail to separate the walking trail from the one way lane that allows cars to leave Cherry Hill. The ten islands, each about two feet wide, will have flower pots, and there will be banners on either side of the bridge.
Julie Estep, one of the residents of Cherry Hill who came to see the progress, mentioned what she sees as a problem for cars on the Turfway side, which is in Boone County, and she also wants Sycamore in Cherry Hill to be fixed. Quinn assured her that Sycamore is on the five-year plan to be fixed, and they are having conversations with Boone County as problems arise.
“There is a vacant piece of property on Cherry Tree Lane that we’re looking at to have a trail head that would lead you down into the park by the first bridge,” Quinn said. “We are going to have a plaza by the bridge, and it will have a porch swing for people to sit and relax. Some things will be done in the next year, and others have different timelines.”
Plans call for multi-modal paths for walking or bicycling or scootering, and rougher trails for mountain biking or dirt biking. The hill behind the dog park will eventually be leveled and graded for what is planned to be a type of skate park for bikes. There will be about 2-to-3 miles of bike tracks behind the spine trail which is on Erlanger property also.
“The 1000 acres is what is possible if we expand to all the different municipalities and cities,” City Administrator Mark Collier said at the groundbreaking in 2024. “But first things first, phase one is the dog park, making old Erlanger road one way, and opening up the spine, which will include shoring up the road, and clearing areas for trails and parking.”
Funding for phase one was a combination of public and private partnerships, along with grant funding. Erlanger’s application for $250,000 was conditionally approved to help with the national Parks Service Department of Interior for the land and water conservation fund, which is a federal program, and they have submitted another similar application.
Collier had said that Eons will likely always be a work in progress, with the enormity of the area, and since phasing will depend on funding, there are no firm finish dates available.
But people were encouraged to come out on a windy January day and see for themselves that the promise of a protected greenspace for recreation that will change the image of recreational spaces in the area has a somewhat finished finite space that they can come and visit and know that there are more spectacular things to come.