STORY OF CHANGE
WILSON ROAD TRAILHEAD COLUMBUS, OHIO
The Wilson Road Trailhead received the 2017 AIA Ohio Honor Award for its design and community impact.
ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department is a true gem in the Columbus community. Their mission is “to enrich the lives of our citizens.” That’s clear when you see the work they’re doing around the city. It is important to see the vital role these parks and facilities play in the social, physical, environmental, and economic health of our community. These parks and facilities promote social inclusion while being specialized anchors in the communities they serve. Located on the West side, Wilson Road Park is the first for the community in 15 years. The implementation was observed beyond the property lines and efforts were made to establish a deeper understanding of the neighborhood context. Scale, attention to detail, and consideration of the human condition all contributed to the Wilson Road Trailhead. The cyclist hub champions for accessibility for all.
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THE CONNECTING SHELTER The Road Park has two defining platforms. The park serves as a community gathering place, one that filled a void in the up-and-coming Hilltop neighborhood on the West side of Columbus. Additionally, it’s the connecting point for the 15-mile long Camp Chase Trail that runs from the Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park to intersecting trails leading into downtown Columbus. The park runs along Wilson Road in the Hilltop neighborhood. The once long-vacant triangle of land across the railroad tracks from the Hollywood Casino is now home to the first park on the West side of Columbus in 15 years. A disservice has finally been vindicated to this neighborhood. Parks connect people and neighborhoods while spurring economic development and revitalization to an area.
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OHIO TO ERIE BIKE TRAIL CAMP CHASE BIKE TRAIL ROUTE 40
In addition to connecting neighborhoods, the trailhead connects the bike trail. The Camp Chase Trail is a 15-mile linear park spanning across Downtown Columbus to Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. This bike trail is part of the Ohio to Erie Trail (450 miles) connecting the Ohio River in Cincinnati to Lake Erie in Cleveland. Wilson Road Trailhead is the shelter that connects these cyclists. Overall, the trailhead combines a sense of community and utility to the area. This space is utilized by the entire 47-acre park and includes an open-air shelter with picnic tables, bike racks, and a bike repair station. It gives cyclists traveling across the state on the Ohio to Erie Bike Trail a chance to rejuvenate and it brings a sense of community to the surrounding neighborhoods.
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SIGNAGE The signage of historic National Road, Route 40, is eye-catching and offers a place to pull over. The “BIKE� sign is designed for the same purpose: to emulate and admire history while initiating a gripping break.
REST STOP Traveling along the Ohio to Erie Bike Trail is parallel to traveling on historic Route 40. This space is more than just a shelter; it has components of utility that make it a significant stop for bike repairs and rest.
TRAIL CONNECTION This shelter is filling a void for the Ohio to Erie Bike Trail and the Camp Chase Bike Trail. It is the spot that connects the trail to the rest of the state and people back to the community.
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COMMUNITY INSIGHT The planning stages of the Wilson Road Trailhead were filled with residents who attended a series of programming meetings. Community members provided insight and feedback on what types of features they wanted to see in the park. Open space, a bike shelter, athletic fields and play equipment for kids scored high.
SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH AND THROUGH The shelter is completely off the grid and is net zero energy. This was achieved by utilizing solar panels to provide power to area lighting. Additionally, the shelter utilizes a straightforward storm water management strategy. Through its placement, the shelter empties storm water directly into a storm water retention swale that was designed into the natural landscape environment. Many materials on the shelter are locally harvested. The brick was quarried in northeast Ohio.
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SOLAR PANEL
The solar panel fuels the lights in the area making the pavilion self-sustaining and off the grid.
BIKE REPAIR STATION The shelter is meant to be a stop on the trail. Much like a gas station, this shelter gives its users the opportunity to repair and be on their way.
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BIKE SIGN As route 40 is to car travelers, this bike trail is to cyclists. The “BIKE” sign is inspired by neon signs seen on Route 40 to draw attention. It’s appealing to a traveler seeking to leave a smaller footprint.
COMMUNITY Of equal, if not of more importance to the success of this space, is the sense of community it encourages. A group of cyclists can reacquaint here and that’s the entire point always: to bring people together.
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THESE PROJECTS MATTER We love making connections. Connections for people and their space, for people and their communities, for communities and their space. This is the reason we exist in Columbus: this community is deep, small, and connected. We will always jump at an opportunity to contribute to a project that serves this city. Especially a project with this much weight resting on its success. You cannot begin to analyze the importance and worth that Wilson Road Park has on the West side of Columbus and the cyclist community. From being the first park on this side of Columbus in 15 years, to a connecting point for the Camp Chase Bike Trail and the Ohio to Erie Bike Trail, the roots of this park run deep. The City of Columbus is progressing towards transit equity with this park. The Camp Chase Trail
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connects downtown Columbus and 15 miles into the West side of Columbus. This is vital to an upand-coming neighborhood as it provides these residents with safer bike commuting and public recreation space. When you have poor public transit in these areas, adding this trail and park grant accessibility for all. Transportation is always a key issue in cities like Columbus, and for important reasons. With the revitalization of the West side of Columbus approaching, we are proud to be part of the new Wilson Road Park. Our shelter, the Wilson Road Trailhead, is the beginning of something great. It not only represents award-winning and practical design, but it also creates the viability of safer commuting, advantages of greater public recreation space, and accessibility for all.
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WSA STUDIO | 982 S. FRONT STREET | COLUMBUS, OHIO 43206 | 614.824.1633