Headwater Connector Could Be Ohio's Next Rail Trail if Solon Can Raise the Money

The Headwater Connector, Solon’s first and Ohio’s latest rail trail, could break ground in 2026. Credit: Open Space Institute

Years ago, Solon Mayor Ed Kraus had somewhat of a wake-up call.

He was out, like usual, riding his bike on the edge of the street when a car hit him. He fell, but avoided broken bones. He later left a doctor’s office with just a hematoma, a blood clot.

Kraus walked away with an epiphany. “It’s dangerous out there,” he said. “People are distracted. They’re looking at their phones. There are so many conflicts people have, you know, just walking or riding their bikes.”

This month, after years of drumming up community support, Kraus is leading a call-for-funding for Solon’s first outdoor trail made from a former railroad line — the Headwater Connector.

Echoing interest in finalizing the third phase of the Redline Greenway—unused RTA track leading into Tower City—the Headwater Connector trail would span, if built, some seven miles, from the northern tip of the Barrington Golf Club in Aurora to the intersection of 422 and the Emerald Necklace Trail in the western portion of Solon.

Solon Mayor Ed Kraus has until the end of summer to raise $2.1 million to secure seven miles of track line from Norfolk Southern. Credit: Mark Oprea

The only problem Kraus is facing is somewhat of an ultimatum despite signing a purchasing agreement on Wednesday: he, and leadership in Aurora and Bainbridge Township, have until the end of the summer to pay Norfolk Southern $2.1 million to secure ownership of that strip of unused railway.

And then, if Norfolk cedes those seven miles, allocate roughly $9 million—$6 million from Solon’s budget—to ensure shovels are in the ground by the end of 2026.

Ohio has 32 rail trails across the state — including the Chippewa Rail Trail in Medina, the Centennial Lake Link Trail and the massive Ohio to Erie Trail that stretches from Cleveland to Cincinnati — with at least four more in progress — the B&O Trail in Athens, the Owl Creek Trail in Knox County and the “Low Line” Trail planned for the lower level of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The Headwater would also be a missing link in the tri-state-spanning Industrial Heartland Trail Network, greenways that, if fully realized, could connect Cleveland, Erie, Pittsburgh and Akron.

Solidified in urbanist culture by the success story of New York’s High Line, rail trails are often solid ways to clean up rusted track of yesteryear and replace the infrastructure with trees, native plants and cycle tracks. A bonus: Increased property values. The High Line ballooned nearby property values by about 32 percent.

Which is how, Kraus said, he has been presenting the ask for the $2.1 million to Ohio’s Republican-led majority.

“I mean, if you care about your property values, you should want more access to trails,” Kraus told Scene in phone call Wednesday from the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. “Because that’s where people like to buy houses: near or on trails.”

Solon is partnering with West Creek Conservancy on securing the land—and ensuring that Norfolk Southern doesn’t chop up those seven miles of track into bits and pieces to sell to private investors.

That’s why Kraus and his administration hired the Open Space Institute, a firm that aides the sale and ownership of former railroads.

A spokesperson for OSI, Siobhan Gallagher Kent, told Scene that private donors could help Solon reach that $2.1 million without over-reliance on state and federal grants—which seem in short supply during Trump 2.0.

“You need to have the backing of the community on this,” Kent said in a call. “That is a super important a key component in getting the project done because without community support you really can’t get leadership on board.”