Scioto Mile
{{short description|Park in Columbus, Ohio}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
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| name = Scioto Mile
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| map_caption = Interactive map of the park network
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| administrator = Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
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{{bike icon}} CoGo
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| website = {{official website|https://www.sciotomile.com/}}
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The Scioto Mile is a collection of parks and trails along both banks of the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio, connecting parts of the Scioto Greenway Trail with downtown Columbus and Franklinton. The nine parks cover {{convert|145|acre}}.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciotomile.com/about/faq/|title=FAQ | Downtown Columbus Park Rules & Information|last=|first=|date=|website=Scioto Mile|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-07}}
History
{{see also|Columbus Civic Center (Ohio)#History|Scioto Mile Promenade#History}}
File:Ohio - Columbus - NARA - 68147040-crop.jpg
File:Scioto Mile groundbreaking.jpg speaking at the Scioto Mile's 2008 groundbreaking]]
At the beginning of the 20th century, the banks of the Scioto River were lined with housing and businesses. Large civic buildings were planned and built: Columbus City Hall, the Ohio Judicial Center, and the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse. Bicentennial Park was the first added on the riverfront, in 1976; and in 1983, Battelle Riverfront Park opened. The parks were separated, and Civic Center Drive, then a five-lane street, cut the parks off from downtown Columbus. In 1992, a replica of Christopher Columbus's Santa María ship was docked at Battelle Riverfront Park to entice residents to the riverfront, but had limited success.
When Michael B. Coleman became mayor in 2000, he advocated development of the riverfront. The Scioto Mile was planned to connect the two parks,{{cite news|title=Scioto Mile: City banks on river in waterfront makeover|newspaper=The Columbus Dispatch|url=https://www.dispatch.com/article/20110707/NEWS/307079745|date=July 7, 2011|accessdate=April 23, 2020}} and was developed from 2011 to 2015. The first phase reduced Civic Center Drive from five to three lanes, allowing the installation of colonnades, fountains, gardens and pavilions. The park space along the entire Scioto River was then redeveloped, and Bicentennial Park completely redesigned. The river was stagnant and muddy due to the Main Street Dam, a low head dam built in 1918 to control flooding, but which doubled the width of the river to {{convert|600|ft}}. In 2013 the dam and surrounding sediment were removed, narrowing the river to {{convert|300|ft}} and giving the city access to {{convert|33|acre}} of previously submerged shoreline. The connected parks have subsequently helped to revitalize the city's downtown.{{cite news|last=Schneider|first=Keith|title=Open Spaces Bring Light to Downtown Columbus|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/realestate/commercial/downtown-columbus-comes-to-life-with-millennial-tower.html|date=May 31, 2016|accessdate=April 23, 2020}}
From late 2018 to 2019, Smart Columbus operated a pilot program of electric driverless shuttles in a loop around the Scioto Mile. The program continued into 2020 in Columbus's Linden neighborhood.{{Cite web|url=https://614now.com/2018/uncategorized/the-future-is-here-driverless-shuttles-launch-next-month|title=The future is here, driverless shuttles now cruising Scioto Mile|last=|first=|date=2018-12-11|website=614now|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-07}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/09/13/scioto-mile-self-driving-shuttle-shutting-down.html|title=Scioto Mile self-driving shuttle shutting down, focus shifts to Linden|last=|first=|date=2019-09-03|website=www.bizjournals.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-07}}
Attributes
The present-day parks include Alexander AEP Park, Battelle Riverfront Park, Bicentennial Park, Dorrian Green, Genoa Park, McFerson Commons, North Bank Park, Scioto Audubon Metro Park and the Scioto Mile Promenade. They are all city-owned, free, and open to everyone year-round, from at least 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Events along the Scioto Mile include the annual Columbus Arts Festival, the Columbus Caribbean Festival, Columbus Food Truck Festival, and Earth Day celebrations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thelantern.com/2020/04/columbus-arts-festival-canceled/|title=Columbus Arts Festival canceled|date=April 3, 2020|website=The Lantern}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20200313/columbus-april-25-earth-day-celebration-canceled-because-of-coronavirus|title=Columbus' April 25 Earth Day celebration canceled because of coronavirus|first=GARY SEMAN|last=JR|website=ThisWeek Community News}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thelantern.com/2019/09/columbus-caribbean-festival-returns-to-scioto-mile/|title=Columbus Caribbean Festival returns to Scioto Mile|date=September 12, 2019|website=The Lantern}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/2019-columbus-food-truck-festival-coming-to-scioto-mile/|title=2019 Columbus Food Truck Festival coming to Scioto Mile|date=July 29, 2019}}
The riverbank features a riparian zone, a natural line of plants that keeps soil from eroding into the water.{{cite news|title=Central Ohio Parks: The Scioto Greenways transforms Downtown Columbus|work=Columbus Monthly|url=https://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2016/06/central-ohio-parks-the-scioto-greenways-transforms-downtown-columbus.html|date=June 29, 2016|accessdate=April 23, 2020}}
Gallery
File:Santa Maria - 2772222245.jpg|The Santa Maria Ship & Museum, a highlight of the riverfront for decades
File:Reflecting Columbus Skyline at Sunset-crop.jpg|The Promenade in 2010, in early stages of redevelopment
File:Columbus Riverfront.jpg|Creating park space in 2015
File:Scioto Mile 02.jpg|Genoa Park on the west bank
File:Scioto Mile 01.jpg|Battelle Riverfront and North Bank Parks on the east bank
References
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External links
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- {{official website|https://www.sciotomile.com/}}
{{Columbus Recreation and Parks}}