Since the adoption of Fairfield Connects in 2020, the City has been strategically seeking opportunities to expand its network of active transportation facilities.  Several trails are currently in different stages of implementation.

Pleasant Avenue/US-127 Shared-Use Path

The City has received a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant from for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments for approximately $1.5 million to build an 8 foot wide to 11 foot wide shared-use path on the west side of Pleasant Avenue between Hunter Road and Wessel Drive.  The purpose and need of this project is to create an active transportation option connecting the Fairfield Town Center to Harbin Park.  Currently advancing through the federal design process, this trail is expected to open in 2027.

The future shared-use path will be physically separated from Pleasant Avenue, unlike the current sidewalk, which acts as an extension of the roadway shoulder in places.  Meeting this goal will introduce topographic challenges that will require creative solutions such as retaining walls and modifications to Pleasant Avenue.

Great Miami River Trail Extension 

The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments also awarded Fairfield $750,000 through a Transportation Alternatives grant to extend the Great Miami River Trail (GMRT) from Waterworks Park through Marsh Park and ending at the intersection of River and Gray Roads.  Expected to be built entirely within the public right of way and on property owned by the City, completion of this 11' wide shared-use path will add approximately 9,000 feet to this major regional trail.  Once completed in 2027, this project will create a 12.8 mile unbroken stretch of the GMRT to the north side of Hamilton.  The GMRT is one day anticipated to stretch from the Ohio River, through Fairfield, to Piqua, Ohio.

This project will extend the GMRT from its current terminus at the northwest corner of the Waterworks parking lot along the west side of Groh Lane to the south side of River Road and into Marsh Park from the north.  Within Marsh Park, the trail will run along the east side of the lake to the current trail near Gamay Lane.  The current trail will be rehabilitated and improved.

Marsh Park Interior Trails

The City was awarded $300,000 by the Ohio Legislature through State Capital Budget funding to build trails within Marsh Park.  These funds will be used to build paved trails on the west side of the lake that were identified during the 2024 park master planning process.  Construction of these trails is expected in 2026.

River Road West

In 2024, the City completed a preliminary feasibility study of River Road West Trail (RRWT), a shared-use path connecting the GMRT to the Pleasant Avenue Shared-Use Path.  Once completed, the RRWT would connect the Pleasant Avenue corridor to the Great Miami River Trail, and perhaps equally important, connect GMRT users from all over the state to the Fairfield Town Center.  The City is currently exploring funding opportunities to fully realize this trail.