CWC’s Road to the Cleveland Lakefront Parks Conservancy
We drafted the statement below as a means to focus on a critical part of the lakefront that is not getting any significant attention. It was partially inspired by the work of the Ohio Canal Corridor. Their work seems to have the advantage of the goal of connecting two areas (downtown Cleveland with the rest of the Towpath Trail that currently ends at Harvard Road). The “lakefront” is perhaps too big a topic. Major issues like the future location and scope of the Port Authority facilities can dominate the public agenda. The CWC emphasis on public access to the lakefront led us to rethink what is a desirable, attractive waterfront.
12/7/08
Statement of practical change as seen by CWC
It is frequently stated that Cleveland should take improve its waterfront and take advantage of this great resource. At CWC, this is our raison d’etre. There is no doubt that the current waterfront configuration has plenty of existing features that make it a special place. However, we think we can all agree that it could be a lot better than it is We can’t emphasize enough the need for connecting the public spaces along our waterfront into a system or waterfront district. As the City states in its plan, a major goal is “improving existing parks and connecting the currently fragmented pieces into a park system to create a continuous green ribbon along the lakefront”. Without the connections, the Cleveland waterfront will not reach its potential and will continue to be a series of isolated attractions.
We don’t think that Cleveland suffers from any deficiency in a planning framework sense. Whatever one thinks of individual aspects and specific proposals of the City’s 2002 “Connecting Cleveland: The Waterfront District Plan.”, the plan provides a flexible framework. Our concern is mainly the “Parks and Open Spaces” and the “Access & Connections” that make possible waterfront recreation. There are plenty of parks and public spaces in varying degrees of use and upkeep. Except for the ongoing Port relocation/new CDF proposals, we doubt that the current configuration will change much in the next generation. That doesn’t mean that individual spaces can’t be improved. More importantly, improved connections between the existing spaces can increase their use and be a significant attraction in their own right.
A reread of the above paragraph has us musing that we are on the nebulous end of the debate spectrum. So, specifically, what would we do if we had the magic wand? We would connect Dike 14/Gordon Park with Edgewater Park via a continuous multipurpose trail. We think the Cleveland Lakefront falls woefully short in this area. This is a basic standard for public waterfronts. Trying to make this 8 mile journey is currently a challenging, less than inspirational, and occasionally miserable experience. It should be one of the best. Specifically, think of going from Gordon Park/Dike 14 to E 55th via the lake’s edge, crossing over to the S Marginal Rd at 55th, going from 55th to the shoreway overpass at about E 25th , crossing over to the N Marginal Rd, going along Burke Airport, going from E 9th along the Rock Hall, GLSC, Browns Stadium and thru the Port to cross over the Cuyahoga north of the railroad lift bridge, thru Wendy Park/ Whiskey Island, and finally to Edgewater Park. This is a plausible, but by no means definitive proposal for a trail that is needed if the Cleveland Lakefront wants to be mentioned in the same league as other attractive lakefronts.
Spring 09
What is the meaning of a desirable, attractive waterfront? What do most people mean when they say “Cleveland should improve its lakefront”? That’s the big question. We think it means great public spaces. It means great parks and connections like we suggested above. How to get to that goal remains another thing altogether. We heard mention of an effort to review this whole topic late in the spring. The work was part of the Senior Class Capstone Project at Cleveland State’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. We attended the presentation at CSU on May 12th. The Senior Class united their individual work on specific areas of lakefront revitalization to form an impressive review of existing conditions and proposals for improvement. We were somewhat awestruck by the realistic scope of their work and how much of this study dovetailed with what we think is really important. We hope to publish their work on this site. It would be a shame to let their work gather dust. The project is also being used to lay the foundation for the Cleveland Lakefront Conservancy. A part of the CWC/EcoCity Cleveland BLUE Project was the need for a waterfront development authority or a conservancy. It receded into the background when the City undertook its planning initiatives. At this point, the need is still there. We don’t see any way to improve conditions without something like a Cleveland Lakefront Conservancy. It embodies the goals of the Cleveland Waterfront Coalition. We are reprinting the case for and mechanics of the Cleveland Lakefront Conservancy for your consideration. Note also that conservancies are in place nationwide for similar greenspaces. Thanks to Lynn Garrity (who is spearheading the Cleveland Lakefront Conservancy) for sending us a copy. We plan on holding a public meeting on October 27th about the Conservancy. The executive summary for the Conservancy is available for your review on this website.
J W Veres
