Greater Cleveland Trails And Greenways Conference To Be Held Monday June 7.
Cities across the U.S. are recognizing and using walking and bicycling trails and greenways as a strategy to retain and attract homeowners and businesses, enhance quality of life, and improve their communities. Trails and greenways positively impact both individuals and communities by providing recreation, fitness, and transportation opportunities, influencing economic and community development and preserving or enhancing the natural landscape.
Locally, a number of trail projects are underway. The best known of these is the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, which when complete will span 100 miles from Cleveland through Akron and on to Dover, Ohio. This trail currently ends at Harvard Avenue, but efforts continue to both complete the Towpath into downtown Cleveland, as well as add a trail connection to Lake Erie at Whiskey Island. A new trail in Middleburg Heights opened last year. The Lake to Lake trail connects Lake Isaac to Lake Abram, as well as Southwest General Medical Center, Polaris Career Center and several other businesses and neighborhoods. In the Parma area, West Creek Preservation Committee is leading the effort to complete the West Creek Greenway, a twenty mile trail and greenway loop that will connect the West Creek Reservation with the Towpath Trail and many schools, neighborhoods, and commercial districts along the way.
Additional trails have been proposed. Friends of Big Creek advocate for the extension of the Big Creek Trail through the City of Brooklyn to the Metroparks Zoo and then through Old Brooklyn to the Towpath near Steelyard Commons. The City of Cleveland has assembled an excellent Bikeway Master Plan which includes a City Loop Trail, or “Emerald Bracelet” to complement the Emerald Necklace. Several communities have developed their own bicycle or greenway plans while others are exploring the potential benefits of such projects.
Of course, transforming the myriad of trail plans and proposals into a completed trail network that we all can use and enjoy has its challenges. Examples of these challenges include selecting acceptable trail routes, obtaining funding, planning for ongoing maintenance, and coordination between various entities, especially in trails that connect several communities.
In order to help communities address these challenges and proceed with trail implementation, several organizations have joined together to hold the first Greater Cleveland Trails and Greenways Conference on June 7 at Southwest General Medical Center and Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Heights.
The Greater Cleveland Trails & Greenways Conference offers an excellent opportunity for public, private, and nonprofit professionals and trail advocates to learn about the benefits inherent to these amenities and the tools needed to develop them. The full day conference will examine model trail projects, as well as local goals, opportunities and experiences. It will showcase the Cleveland Metroparks’ recently completed Lake to Lake Trail and include a site visit to this trail which is adjacent to the conference facilities. The conference will also highlight the health benefits of recreational trail use. Speakers will address topics such as economic, environmental and quality of life benefits of greenways and trails, public health opportunities related to trails, how to involve the public in trail planning, funding opportunities, and trail design and construction challenges. The conference will wrap up with a facilitated group discussion focusing on “Building the World Class Trails and Greenways Network in Greater Cleveland”
For more information or to register for the Conference, please visit www.GCtrails.org
Happy Trails & Healthy People - a Health and Trails Fair
Happy Trails & Healthy People - a Health and Trails Fair is a free public event being planned in conjunction with the Greater Cleveland Trails and Greenways Conference. This health and trails fair will be held from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Monday, June 7 at the Polaris Career Center, 7285 Old Oak Boulevard in Middleburg Heights.
This event will feature free health screenings, nutrition information, and opportunities to discover how trails and greenways can be part of a fun, healthy lifestyle. Information about existing and planned trails and greenways will be available, as well as opportunities to learn about recreation and fitness groups and their trail related activities. Guides will lead trail walks for seniors (5:30 pm) and kids (6:30 pm) on the Lake to Lake Trail.
Happy Trails & Healthy People is being sponsored by Southwest General Health Center, Polaris Career Center, Lifeworks, Old Oak Bible Church, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, National Park Service Rivers and Trails, Cleveland Metroparks, Friends of Big Creek, and West Creek Preservation Committee, and many others.