The completed portion runs from Hoopple’s and the Columbus Road Bridge to Scranton Road, and it instantly has become the Industrial River Valley’s most picturesque route for joggers and casual cyclists. Scene jogged the trail last Friday, and can confirm that the views are sublime. When complete, the trail will run all the way to Wendy Park.
The Lake Link Trail, among other projects, were celebrated last week in a City Club panel discussion held off-site at Merwin’s Wharf, a stone’s throw from the new trail’s Ohio City mouth. (Full podcast available here).
Zoller and Zimmerman both suggested that without the “spirit of collaboration” among stakeholders, (governmental, corporate and philanthropic), much of this “next-level” visioning and dialoguing would continue to stall.
Pace’s lakefront mecca, framed as a family-friendly, all-inclusive neighborhood, will include a school, a restaurant and residences. Pace argued that his project shouldn’t be viewed as competing with the likes of Flats East Bank or W. 25th. It’s meant for families, he said, to show them that they can and should raise kids downtown.
Friedman talked mostly about commercial shipping and his ongoing efforts to grow Northeast Ohio’s maritime trade, not to mention the glorious “theater of the harbor,” which everyone fiercely agreed should be leveraged and further publicized as a cool amenity / spectator sport.
WCPN’s Rick Jackson moderated, and for the most part allowed the gathered leaders to dote on their projects. The potential for development, to hear these folks tell it, is limited only by our can-do attitude. And while it’s certainly true that some of the early projects seem like successes — the Lake Link, for our money, smells like exactly the kind of thing the Metroparks ought to be doing — important issues related to safety, financing and scheduling weren’t discussed at length, if they were discussed at all. Pace said a mercurial “Phase One” of his lakefront resort might be completed in time for the RNC.
Here, here!
And our ol’ chum Brian Zimmerman, not what you’d call a gifted extemporaneous speaker, uttered the phrase “next level” at least six hundred times in the course of the one-hour conversation. The much decried “Sky Lift,” Zimmerman said, was ripe for “that next level of conversation.” And when asked why the Cuyahoga River doesn’t feature duck boat tours like some other cities on the water, Zimmerman offered up the Metroparks’ Water Taxi as a comparison.
While certainly not as iconic as the duck boats, Zimmerman said, the Water Taxi will really contribute to the Metroparks’ “next level of education.”
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2015.
WE WANT THE DUCK BOATS!
A map would be nice, Sam.
HOW badly does METROPARKS want to jeopardize THIER tax levies, financing, bond capacity to support some half baked PR joyride in bid to ‘tie it’ to rest of THEIR stuff or OTHER ‘interests’? WE went thru HOW much BS across the board and NO one has ‘learned’. WHO is gonna fall on sword for some gondola ride…far as Scranton Pen. area…some marinas, a runners trail, few other things, MAYBE some parking co exists w/what is LEFT that is viable and call it a day….
REAL BUSINESS is leveling, demolishing the wrecks… lawyers, rest make $ dealing w/the blank… Hopefully shale oil comes back. INTERESTS? Got too many toys as it is… and city ONLY has so much bonding capacity or politico will…
IS a synenergy OF SORTS in Downtown…BUT…LIMITED. IT crew? BIG NAMES STILL ELSEWHERE… as in Poly Valley or Silicon Valley or that Boston High tech corridor or whatever… and REAL DOUBTS, QUESTIONS as to abilities, WHO do working “FOR” and all that… LOT of THIS was done to FILL IN old buildings in bid to keep ALL THAT going and OFF THE LAND BANK ROLLS among other things. NO way can a CLEVELAND SKYLIFT begin to fill in a big time demand far as riders… BE this short lived gee whiz semi odd “HIGH COST” PR joyride til have ‘incidents’ whether a French Flee Fiasco or gets ‘stuck’ NEAR a SUPPORT STRUCTURE and good old CFD/CPD/EMS has a BLANK H time rescuing anyone UP there or other such… let YOUR MINDS peruse all THAT….
IMAGINE the HIDEOUS over the top insurance to rest would need…. or the *$*@ idiot crap flung out windows or the YOUPORN HUB moments going on or other such…be this constant BS…
WHO is gonna go to TAXPAYERS/VOTERS to have THIS ‘backed’? POLITICOS and REST would RUN AND HIDE AND EVERYONE knows it.. ALL see is some rusty disassembled rotting wreck sitting in weeds waiting for some case resolution as ping pongs thru The System and bankruptcy CH ultimately to be sent off for pennies on the $…
THOUGHT biz INTERESTS among others wanted messes cleaned up or are we talking about hideous games here in bid to WHATEVER….got ENOUGH to tie YOU, rest up forever and a day and then some…
Far as STARK and HIS stuff? DELUSION? MAY want to think in terms of leveling some old POS $*@ and use THAT for parking… how many decorated expense account $50 lunches NEW ‘toy’ NEW places can One peddle for awhile? SERIOUSLY… HOW many are gonna want to meander around on some bizarre joyride flying over YACHT CLUBS (SURE THEY love THAT prospect….), SEWER DIST.plant, port, BROWNS, and dangerous moving infrastructure….
DO a PARTIAL…some gee whiz OVER the river THEN maybe some Lolly Trolly or tiny train ride to Wendy Isle…. let the rent a bike crew among others do THEIR thing…this Odyssey to promised land OVER THERE…. SOBERING Moment is when RTA cant even keep FLATS EAST BANK Red Line going and going thru all this jazz….MAY turn around but the OLD DAYS were boat, party central AND I DONT think THIS crew like THAT over there @ Wolstein E&Y land ….I COULD be wrong…
IF I had a $ for all the civic crews that got selves into trouble…FLATS OXBOW to rest… time to just turn parts of PENINSULA into a park, EPA green sink carbon tax cred heaven, SOME parking and let whatever do their graffiti thing which SPEAKS VOLUMES and then some…. guess spares REST OF AREA….
NEARLY ALL OF SKYLIFT’s BACKERS have gotten into SERIOUS LEGAL HOT WATER…ask PORT AUTHORITY. LONG sorry blank history THERE and CURRENT PRESIDENT brought in TO CLEAN ALL THAT UP… nearly true of rest of em… UNITED WAY went thru a HIDEOUS SCANDAL moment of OWN… FRANK J is just trying to finish out term w/out incidents….
OTHERS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED….AVOIDED LEGAL problems so far and HOW THEY ‘did it’ is beyond Me…. referencing the fun crew over @ Corporate One…
TIME to hang it up FCE….got what wanted or GOT ENOUGH NAILED in process while got BLOOD BACK for losing MED MART gig……YOU want to sign up for THAT dear “THIS/OTHER” Zimmerman? YOU won w/$78 million or whatever deal was w/Gilbert far as HorseShoe casino….. went thru ALL THIS THIS long over WHAT again? UNLOADED MOST OF YOUR assets there… let us know how DC, NYC, Miami and rest of it going…. SMART MOVE… STARK? IDEA of HIM riding coattails of a Lebron or WHATEVER HE thinks HE is riding is surreal…. SUSPECT this project over the garage PROBABLY LAST project or 2nd to last…
I HAVE VISIONS of a AMERITRUST TOWER horror fest and this hideous round robin sellathon attempts lasting forever and a day and WHO the blank is gonna go for “THAT”…tax breaks or other or not…THAT was built in a WHOLE OTHER era for other needs (literally 16 ft long cars, guys stayed @ SAME JOB SAME unionized plant for 30 yrs,etc.etc.and HAD 30 y fixed mortgages and NOT this creative TARP RTC type moments) .TRY gaining support for THAT…or getting $ to build a WHAT WHERE FOR WHO again when TRENDLINE is to automation,outsourcing,downsizing, Internet,and every other thing? FALSE sense of hope to surrounding junk building owners who dig heels in and ensuing crapfest …. ONLY SO many saviors…. SMART ONES sold out to a Cleveland State or whatever…. HOT action til finally HALF of population dies of old age is UNIVERSITY CIRCLE… ride that medical industrial complex til blue in the face…
THIS? NOT intended as a dig @ You there THIS Mr.Jackson (NPR)….know doing YOUR thing and normally applaud You for efforts BUT…. One thing some folks giggling off to parks, zoo or the beaches… AFRAID the gondola thing gonna suck up $200 MILLION PLUS AND the air OUT OF THE ROOM and just NOT a weiner as they say…THAT $200 MILLION gonna do H more good dealing w/lot MORE BS elsewhere then EVER could zipping along chewing up big time $……
Found this treasure the other day on my lunch time run. WOW… Gorgeous trail, impressive.
Perhaps “UNNEEDED” should leave his mother’s basement and go for a run some time.