If you're a city official in central Ohio listening to the recreational demands of your residents, you're likely hearing this: "Where's the bike trail?"

In Grove City, focus groups were so united in their request for bike trails that officials made them a separate section in the city's master plan. In Pickerington, two-thirds of survey respondents rated bike trails No. 1 among new or additional offerings. Fitness and jogging trails were No. 2 and nature trails No. 3.

With 88 miles of bike paths, Dublin is the standard bearer for all of central Ohio and perhaps the state.

"There's a big push right now from all the suburbs, Metro Parks and Columbus for central greenways," said Kim Conrad, Grove City's parks director. "Greenways" include bike paths, walkways and even waterways, she said.

In Grove City, Hilliard, New Albany and other communities, developers are required to put in sidewalks, bike paths or both with their developments.

"Trails are addicting," said Steve Studenmund, planning manager for Franklin County Metro Parks. "Once you use them and see how successful they are, you kind of want more. I continue to get calls from people who want a longer trail system where they can ride 5 or 10 miles on a dedicated trail."

The goal is to have about 165 miles of trails winding through the Columbus metro area that hook up with many miles of local networks in the suburbs and neighboring towns.

"So a person on a street in Dublin would be able to get all the way over to Pickerington using four or five trail systems," said Brad Westall, trails planner for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.

Columbus has about 48 miles of completed trail network, primarily along the streams and rivers of the city. An additional 10 miles should be completed in the next year or so.

Mark Anderson, 50, commutes to work by bike about eight months out of the year from his home in Clintonville to Downtown using the Olentangy Trail and various streets.

"I want to get to Point A to Point B and get there safely," said Anderson, vice president of information technology at OHIC Insurance Co. "That is where I see Columbus has some work to do, connecting communities and providing either trails or space on the road."

One thing the city is focusing on is connector paths to neighborhoods along major routes.

An example is the foot bridge being built over the Olentangy River south of Antrim Park. When finished this fall, it will give residents east of the river access to the Olentangy Trail.

"We have probably built as many connector paths as main trails in the last year or two, simply because every neighborhood wants to get connected," Westall said. "Basically, every half mile or so, you need a good east-west connector into the main trail because there are many cases of folks who live close to one but don't have direct access."

The idea is to create a network that allows almost every resident to be five to 10 minutes from a major greenway trail, he said.

There also are big plans for those major trails.

The Lower Scioto Trail, which the Olentangy Trail spills into Downtown, has the potential to be extended to allow bicyclists to ride between Worthington and Grove City.

The Alum Creek Trail will stretch about 22 miles between Westerville and Obetz. The final 4-mile segment is about two years from completion.

Central Ohio also will be part of the Ohio to Erie Trail, which will stretch across the state between the Ohio River in Cincinnati and Lake Erie in Cleveland. The trail currently runs between Cincinnati and the eastern end of Madison County. The plan is to run the trail through Columbus to Westerville.

Most of the major trails in the area run north-south. What is needed, trail advocates say, are more east-west routes.

"Those are the most challenging because you don't have a creek or tributary that runs east and west," said Bernice Cage, transportation planner for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Streets will be used to make those connections.

"On-street bike lanes are much less expensive than trails," said John Gideon, president of the Central Ohio Bicycle Advocacy Coalition. "We just have to get people used to the idea."

tdoulin@dispatch.com

mrozenman@dispatch.com