Luke_S

You're right, they do. They just don't acquire as much land as their annual acquired acres might suggest, a lot of that is purchased by these conservancies then transferred over to the Metroparks. West Creek Reservation in Parma was land acquired by West Creek Conservancy, Acacia Reservation was purchased by The Conservation Fund, Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park by Western Reserve Land Conservancy as some examples.

To respond to a very narrow part of your post; I think there is reason for optimism. We all recognize the good work the Cleveland Metroparks does, but they are not actively acquiring land for parks. Instead we have Western Reserve Land Conservancy and West Creek Conservancy--it is my understanding that both of these organizations are in the business of acquiring land that often is turned over to the Metroparks. West Creek, for example, is relatively young (been around only ~20 years) but one of their goals is to make the emerald necklace contiguous. They are also one of the parties involved in the acquisition and development of Irish Town Bend park, which will hopefully be closer to some of the examples you sited. I know we are disappointed in the parklet that is going into Tower City, but the Conservancy for CVNP was involved in that as well which could signal that they might extend their reach further north into Cleveland, bringing a third conservancy into play. Also, if I am remembering correctly, Bibb floated the idea of a reorganization to make the Cleveland Parks and Rec Department independent which would ideally/hopefully allow them to improve the city parks. Outside of that I think there are some ways we could get creative to bring in federal and state money to the region to free up resources of the various groups mentioned above allowing them to reinvest elsewhere. There are 2 marine sanctuaries in the Great Lakes (Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast in Lake Michigan and Thunder Bay in Lake Huron), and a third to be designated in Lake Ontario; if Cleveland were to pursue one in Lake Erie it would bring federal money to manage the area designated, for research, and for public access and tourism. Part of managing the area could include aiding in rehabilitating the watershed, which could include aiding in dam removals. I have also been looking at water trails in the area, we have one along the Lake Erie coast and the Cuyahoga River; the Rocky River and Chagrin River are not designated. If these two rivers were designated water trails it would bring state money to help maintain and improve access on these rivers. I had reached out to the Metroparks about this and they said it was not among their current priorities given the significant obstacles in the Rocky River (dams and fords) and that these rivers tend to get shallow and unnavigable, especially later in the summer. Though USGS has meter stations on both of these rivers so it would be easy enough to provide the safe discharge and water levels and paddlers to check before going out.

Steris out of Mentor

This view really shows the potential they had to work with; bottom center they have a second fountain that they could have (and should have) incorporated into this installation to add to the atmosphere; you also have the four large planters that could have been better integrated. It could have been really cool, but would have likely required removing some of marble, and you wont get that back... Its also not without risk to have large plants like trees inside -- the roots will find their way into any crack and create issues from there. Interesting idea, hopefully it leads to some foot traffic in TC, but it thankfully looks temporary.

Still need to play around with this map more, but could it be 'skewed' in a sense because there is no residential development along the downtown section of the lakefront?

And if we are talking about lakefront parks/properties specifically, >90% is privately owned. So we could do with more access to our coast. https://www.countyplanning.us/projects/cuyahoga-county-lakefront-public-access-plan/#:~:text=Currently%2C over 90% of the,across the Lake Erie shoreline.

On the subject of dam removal, anyone know of any plans to remove the other dams/fords upstream on the Rocky River? CLEVELAND METROPARKS AND OHIO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CELEBRATE IMPROVEMENTS AT BONNIE PARK News & Press | July 2022 "Cleveland Metroparks was joined today by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) to celebrate the completion of the Bonnie Park Restoration Project in Mill Stream Run Reservation. The project, which began in 2018, improved water quality and habitat in the East Branch of the Rocky River, restored nearly five acres of vital wetlands, permanently protected 65 acres of existing high-quality wetlands adjacent Bonnie Park, and added a new accessible riverside overlook." https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/news-press/2022/july-2022/cleveland-metroparks-and-ohio-environmental-protec

538 has given them a pretty average "C" grade However, 538's average shows Ryan slightly ahead and their odds on his winning have improved.

If CVNP and the Conservancy are going to have a footprint in Tower City could that be signaling extending CVSR back into Cleveland?

9th District of the Coast Guard is headquartered in Cleveland. This district covers all of the great lakes. But given that the only access to the Great Lakes is the St Lawrence Seaway and the boarder is with Canada, I can't think of much need for a Naval station.

Do you know when we can expect to see plan designs/renderings?

Construction can begin without the property, but still 🙄 Judge blocks Port of Cleveland from swift pursuit of George family's property atop Irishtown Bend "A Cuyahoga County judge has dealt the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority a significant blow in the agency’s push to swiftly complete land assembly and start moving dirt on the hillside atop Irishtown Bend. On Thursday, June 30, Common Pleas Court Judge John Sutula granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Tony and Bobby George, the father-and-son owners of a small parcel at the northern end of the hillside. The decision, an early win for the Georges in an ongoing legal fight, blocks the port from advancing an effort to take the property through eminent domain. The ruling came amid an apparent breakdown in settlement talks between the Georges, the port and other parties, including the agency’s partners in a civic effort to stabilize the slope. The hillside is set to become a 23-acre park connecting West 25th Street in Ohio City to the west bank of the Cuyahoga River."

Bike lanes with more protection than just plastic bollards?!? 😍

Maybe not a high-speed route (at first), but I don't understand at all why you wouldn't connect Cincinnati-Louisville-Nashville. Huge hole on the eastern half of the map, Tennessee doesn't have any stops, Kentucky has one. Two Republican states, one with a very influential senator. Other cities in those states I would connect, and would have Nashville link into one (or both) of the existing lines in Alabama or Georgia and not just terminate, but that route should be the start of the spine.

My mistake, you're more familiar than I am with those campsites. And I misunderstood your point, I think we agree. Even Brandywine Golf Course would only be marginally closer than the boy scout camps and have the same barriers you mentioned without creating a direct link to the towpath. I'd love more campsites throughout the park. I don't know why the metroparks don't step in in the meantime and create car camping sites in the Brecksville or Bedford Reservations -- could be a revenue source for them. Though that would only serve the north of the park.

Just an FYI, the boy scouts have camp Manatoc and Butler and girl scouts have camp Ledgewood north of the Virginia Kendall area of the park. But broadly agree, park infrastructure could be vastly improved.

Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park won a brownfield remediation grant from the state earlier this week to fun the removal of soil from the old Brandywine golf course due to mercury contamination. Preliminary plans are to turn the former golf course into camp ground! This would be great for the park which currently doesn't have any camping sites in the park. Tent camping was available in the field behind the Stanford house but I believe that was ended due to lack of appropriate amenities. Despite having two reservations that connect to the national park - Brecksville and Garfield - Cleveland Metroparks only offers limited, backwoods camp sites in the Brecksville reservation. There are very few places to camp in the area and this would be well positioned near Peninsula, providing traffic to businesses there, and around the middle of the park. Connections to the towpath on the other side of the river would have to be created for thru hikers or bikers though. ideastream: Unlikely Northeast Ohio site gets state grant for hazardous waste cleanup.

I like the idea of the stadium south of 90 to keep the stadiums together. I do not like having it all the way down where the post office is. Two questions; is the old Norfolk Southern site too small for a football stadium? And if the plan is to build a stadium that is used for more events why would you build a separate soccer stadium? Why not build the new stadium in such a way that you could easily close the upper bowl to accommodate fewer fans and reduce staffing needs?

MRN plans first new downtown Cleveland condos in more than a decade https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/mrn-plans-first-new-downtown-cleveland-condos-more-decade?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_term=crain's+cleveland+business&utm_content=5df48f73-42b9-4bae-9351-d3afb91cb94c

Canton gets a first look at SARTA Pro Football Hall of Fame streetcar plans AUTHOR Anna Huntsman PUBLISHED June 16, 2022 "The project would likely cost between $50 million and $100 million and would take about 5 years to complete, Rosenberger said. The plan is to use existing track from the former Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad along I-77, he said, with additional track to be installed in the downtown area. The light rail would consist of five hydrogen-powered streetcars that can hold about 100 people each, he said. Streetcar service would operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Streetcars would stop at the stations every 15 minutes, and the total trip time from the first stop – downtown – to the last stop at the airport would take about 30 minutes, Rosenberger said." https://www.ideastream.org/news/canton-gets-a-first-look-at-sarta-pro-football-hall-of-fame-streetcar-plans

Since CLE is no longer a hub and most trips begin or end here is there really a need for an on-site hotel? From the reporting it sounds like it was mostly flight crews at the end and unfortunately I don't think we're going to be gaining status as a hub again. When, and more likely if, Amtrak is able to successfully expand in Ohio and put a stop at Hopkins maybe it would make sense to have a hotel positioned somewhere between the two.

I don't disagree, but at a certain point you're going to get diminishing returns. Edgewater on the westside, planned CHEERS expansion on the east, and Irishtown Bend centrally I think some smaller parks integrated into the neighborhoods makes a lot of sense.

Cleveland Zoo continuing to improve and expand it's animal exhibits! Bear necessities: Zoo sets July construction start for Bear Hollow https://www.crainscleveland.com/arts-entertainment/cleveland-metroparks-zoo-sets-july-construction-start-bear-hollow

I love a good park, but this area has the potential to be a really cool neighborhood. I like the Marlin property acquisition as a means to keep riverfront property public, but the property off the river should be sold off for private development. Roll that money into another land acquisition or capital improvements.

Update: AP sources confirmed David Blitzer is gaining minority share for 25%-30% with rights to take control in 5 or 6 years.