Towpath Trail Extension

Updates

November 2007

Construction is complete on the Treadway Creek Connector in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland. Using the Treadway Creek ravine, the trail connects Harmody Park with the Jennings/Harvard area. This is the first Towpath Trail connector finished from a Cleveland neighborhood on the west side of the river. An updated map of the Towpath Trail extension is now available.

June 2007

An updated map of the Towpath Trail extension is now available, identifying the trail segments and connectors that are complete, under construction, or in the design phase.

January 2007

The project has been awarded $1.9 million through the State of Ohio's 2007 biennial State Capital Budget bill. The funds will be administered by the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This is the first time that the Towpath Trail project in Cuyahoga County has received funding through the State Capital Budget bill.

The Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office has received Board of County Commissioners approval for the hiring of a consultant team lead by DLZ Ohio for environmental, engineering, and design services for Stage 1 of the project (Harvard Avenue to the south entrance of the Steelyard Commons shopping center). The first round of stakeholder meetings is underway, and a public meeting will be held in late April. The current priority is the completion of required environmental documents.

October 2006

The Towpath Trail has received a $425,000 grant from the state's Clean Ohio Fund to help construct the segment of the trail from Harvard Road to the south entrance of the Steelyard Commons shopping center.

The state grant, federal funds and tax-increment financing at Steelyard Commons will help pay for the $8 million, three-quarter-mile extension from Harvard to the shopping center.

This segment of the trail is scheduled to be finished in 2010. Completion of the remaining six miles, including improvements to Canal Basin Park downtown, is scheduled for 2014, at an estimated cost of $48 million. A map showing the updated alignment is now available.

January 2006

Cleveland City Council has approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package for the Steelyard Commons retail complex, which will bring significant funding to the Towpath Trail and Canal Basin Park projects. As part of the TIF, the Cleveland City School District will receive its full share of new property taxes to be generated by the shopping center, which will be over $1 million annually. Of the remaining new property tax revenue, 70% will be dedicated toward completing the Towpath Trail to downtown Cleveland, as well as Canal Basin Park, the northern terminus of the trail. Thirty percent of the property taxes will be used for commercial revitalization and other commercial and industrial initiatives, with emphasis for projects in Cleveland neighborhoods in proximity to the new shopping center. The TIF is anticipated to generate over $10.5 million toward the estimated $40 million cost of the Towpath project.

November 2005

Two minor revisions have been made in the Towpath Trail alignment. Just north of Harvard Avenue, the general alignment of the proposed route has been shifted slightly eastward, away from the Cuyahoga River, due to the presence of a sandbar. At the south end of the Scranton Peninsula, a short segment of future trail across the base of the peninsula has been changed to a neighborhood connector, reaffirming a connection to the Ohio City neighborhood via Franklin Avenue westward to West 25th Street.

September 2005

A final alignment for the Towpath Trail through the Steelyard Commons retail complex has been agreed upon.

August 2005

The Towpath Trail extension received $6.4 million in funding in the recent federal transportation bill. See the August 8 Akron Beacon Journal (free registration required) for details.

February 2005

Project Description
The Towpath Trail has become a defining feature in the Cuyahoga Valley landscape. Constructed more than 175 years ago as part of the Ohio & Erie Canal, it was a simple dirt path on which to lead animals pulling canal boats. When the economically unprofitable canal finally ceased to be used after the 1913 flood, the towpath survived as a silent witness to an earlier era.

The creation of the Towpath Trail is the most important regional trail project in northeast Ohio. The Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga County is part of the 101-mile trail spine being constructed the length of the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway. The 101-miles of trail in the Canalway are also part of the 460-mile Ohio to Erie Trail, which will connect Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland.

During the past ten years, about fifteen miles of Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga County have been completed by the National Park Service (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) and Cleveland Metroparks (Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation). The trail now has two million users annually, and it has been the catalyst for significant investments in economic development, neighborhood revitalization, and entrepreneurship opportunities. Approximately six miles of trail remain uncompleted in Cuyahoga County, which will extend the route to downtown Cleveland and Lake Erie.

Implementation
The working guide for implementation is the Towpath Trail Extension: Alignment & Design Study, published in 2002 by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. This document was adopted by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission on March 14, 2002 and adopted by the Cleveland City Planning Commission on June 21, 2002. This study identified a preferred alignment, cost estimate, and design for the trail leading into downtown Cleveland.

This final section of trail will not be able to follow the original alignment of the Ohio & Erie Canal due to generations of industrial development in the Cuyahoga River Valley. The consensus route presented in this proposal however, is the result of over ten years of dialogue with the general public, neighborhood organizations, property owners, and public agencies.

The plan includes long-term multiple trail routes in several locations, as well as a network of neighborhood connectors, in order to provide the best trail access to residents and visitors. The first priority however, is completing six miles of trail to create the network spine.

First Interstate Properties, Ltd., the developer of the new retail complex Cleveland's Steelyard Commons, has included a safe, off-road route for the Towpath through their site.

Three long-term routes are to be implemented in the Flats area; the first route to be completed will be the one utilizing the Scranton Peninsula and the Carter Road Bridge.

Planning Partnership
The project will be supervised by the Towpath Trail Partnership Committee, whose members are (in alphabetical order): Board of Commissioners, Cuyahoga County; City of Cleveland; Cleveland Metroparks; Cuyahoga County Engineer; Cuyahoga County Planning Commission; National Park Service (Cuyahoga Valley National Park); Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, Ohio Canal Corridor; and the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office will oversee design and construction of the trail. Cleveland Metroparks will provide day-to-day management, including maintenance, safety and security, and interpretive services.

Construction Information
The conceptual cost opinion for the approximately six miles of trail, including land acquisition, construction, trailheads, and interpretive exhibits, is $25 million. This figure is subject to revision pending the securing of right-of-way, the completion of design development and construction documents, and the conclusions of the environmental documentation.