The grassy old railroad right-of-way between Sherbrooke and Bellevue roads in West Toledo was once part of a busy network of train tracks that encircled the city.

The trains are long gone, and the next planned use for the railroad bed is a walking and biking trail project that area planners are close to putting into use.

The first part, known as Chessie Circle Phase 1, is the 1.9-mile stretch from Monroe Street to Bowman Park.

The plans to be done this year will be the subject of an open house next week where the public will be able to question local officials and look at detailed plans and charts. The event is 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the West Toledo YMCA, 2110 Tremainsville Road.

Eventually the path is to connect West Toledo with Wood County and link up with other trails and bike paths.

Pat Schenavar, owner of a house on Bellevue that backs up to the trail route, said he’s been hearing about it since he moved there in 2003. His back yard abuts to the old elevated railroad bed, and he mows some of the public-owned right of way, as do many of his neighbors.

“I’m halfway looking forward to it and halfway concerned,” said Mr. Schenavar, who shares the house with his wife and two young children. “I hope it’s positive and I hope it brings everybody’s values up.” But he said items have been stolen from his and his neighbors’ backyards, which the railroad right-of-way makes accessible.

The city’s plan is to grade the trail 17 feet wide with a compacted stone surface. Eventually the route is to be paved. Other improvements will include safety railing, bollards, drainage, sidewalk replacement, crosswalk striping, and signage where the path crosses city streets.

The Ohio Department of Transportation built a pedestrian and bike bridge over I-475 near Sherbrooke this summer.

Another bridge eventually will be built to carry the path over the Norfolk Southern railroad’s active tracks between Hill and South avenues.

The former CSX westside corridor railroad right-of-way was purchased in 2011 by the city of Toledo and other regional entities for $6.5 million.

The right-of-way was part of the Toledo Terminal Railroad that circled the city. “Chessie” refers to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad that was a part-owner of the Toledo Terminal for years until the mid-1980s, when it became sole owner.

The “Chessie Circle Trail” is planned as a north-south bike trail route linking users to other existing and proposed trails in the area, and provide bicycle and pedestrian connectivity between neighborhoods, parks, schools, public spaces, business districts, and institutions, city officials said.

The five regional partners are the Metroparks of the Toledo area, the city of Toledo, University of Toledo, Wood County Park District, and the Wood County Port Authority.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.

First Published September 26, 2014, 4:00 a.m.