More than 400 homes in Loveland's Warren County section moved a step closer to a walkable connection to downtown after City Council on Aug. 25 approved a right-of-way consulting contract for the State Route 48/Butterworth Road Sidewalks Project, according to a post from Loveland City Government.

Council also voted to sell a conservation easement along Riverside Drive to the Little Miami Conservancy and appointed John Rost to the city's Finance Commission during the regular session at Loveland City Hall.

Sidewalk project advances

The contract with West Erie Realty Solutions LTD, a Toledo-based right-of-way acquisition firm with a Cincinnati office, covers consulting services needed before construction can begin. The city has secured a $2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to build sidewalks from Blossom View Drive to Butterworth Road, plus a $761,000 grant from the OKI Regional Council of Governments to extend them down Butterworth Road to the Butterworth Glen subdivision, according to the city's construction projects page.

Engineering and design began in 2024. Construction is expected to start in spring 2028.

Once complete, residents of Butterworth Glen, Hermitage Pointe, Sentry Hill, Chimney Ridge, Brandywine and Loveland Health Care will have a sidewalk route into downtown. Improving walkability is a stated goal of the city's 2022 Comprehensive Master Plan.

City Manager David Kennedy described the goals of the SR-48 sidewalk corridor in a January WCPO report about a related phase near White Pillars: "It allows our residents, not only to connect to themselves, connect to different neighbors, but ultimately be able to walk into the downtown district."

Conservation easement on Riverside Drive

Council approved an ordinance authorizing the sale of a conservation easement over a portion of city-owned property along Riverside Drive to the Little Miami Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust founded in 1967 to protect the Little Miami National Wild and Scenic River. The conservancy has established more than 120 nature preserves along the waterway and its tributaries, according to a Clermont Guardian report on the meeting.

The acreage and dollar value of the easement were not disclosed in available records.

Other business

Council authorized a purchase order with Capital Electric for traffic signal improvements at West Loveland Avenue and Lebanon Road and passed emergency ordinances assessing annual lighting district maintenance costs for several residential subdivisions in Warren and Clermont counties.

The next Loveland City Council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 8.