The project will “lay back” the levees so that steep, existing slopes are replaced with more gradual and gentle embankments.
Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein said the project will create several new access points to the waterway and city funding will help pay for lighting, signage and a new plaza.
The city previously approved spending $300,000 to hire a firm to complete engineering design services to improve the Wolf Creek levee.
City documents state that the plan is to lay back the levee from the Edwin C. Moses bridge to the Orth Avenue on the north side of Wolf Creek. The city and Miami Conservancy District want to remake the levee on the southside of the waterway from West First Street to Paisley Street.
Tony Kroeger, Dayton’s planning division manger, said access points will be determined through the Stantec study.
But he said currently under consideration is a paved ramp on the northside of the waterway near McIntosh Park and two other access points on the south side near Williams Street.
Stantec will evaluate a staircase option.
“Stantec will recommend amenities, but some things we would like to see would be an overlook plaza at the end of Williams Street in Wolf Creek (south side of the Wolf Creek waterway), some pathway lighting (TBD) and interpretive signage about the area and the adjacent waterways,” Kroeger said. “Stantec will also evaluate seating equipment, such as the ‘swings’ at Riverscape.”
Right now, the levees obstruct views of the Wolf Creek tributary from adjacent residential neighborhoods, and there’s limited ways to get down to the waterway.
Portions of the levees will be be rebuilt so they are thicker with more gradual slopes to improve flood protection. Flatter slopes combined with amenities like ADA accessible ramps, stairs and benches will make the area more accessible and inviting, officials said.
The project will improve access to the regional trail system.
“The highlight of positive impact is that the levee will still protect the adjacent community but will feel like less of a barrier — and more of an amenity,” said Sarah Hippensteel Hall, the Miami Conservancy District’s manager of communications, outreach and stewardship. “You will also be able to access Wolf Creek for fishing or wading more easily.”
Construction work hopefully will get started in 2025 and should take about six to nine months, city officials said.
Most of the city’s $1.5 million contribution to the Miami Conservancy District comes from its $138 million in federal COVID relief aid; the rest comes from the West Dayton development fund.
The Miami Conservancy District board also has agreed to provide $750,000 to support the project.
“We are excited that the levee work will complement adjacent neighborhood investment,” said Kroeger. “We think that long-time residents will value this effort to remove such an imposing levee wall on the south side. On the north side, you have a very well-used city park that will become a riverfront park overnight.”
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