Click on all images to enlarge

Piece by piece, the $48 million plans for the Towpath Trail extension—as it winds its way the final six miles from Metroparks CanalWay Reservation to the Flats and the Cleveland Lakefront—are falling into place.

An eight-group partnership including Cuyahoga County, Cleveland Metroparks and Ohio Canal Corridor presented plans at the Zoo on April 17, 2007 that mostly focus on Segment One—a one-mile stretch of multi-use path from the current terminus (at Old Harvard Road) north to the new trail loop at Steelyard Commons.

The proposed alignment for this segment starts on the east bank, crosses the river on what would be a new 300-ft. bridge under the Harvard-Denison Bridge and then hugs the Lower Cuyahoga River’s west bank over land heavily impacted by industry.

The good news: almost all of the land for Segment One of the trail has been donated or is in a long-term lease or easement, and the $7.9 million to build the trail is committed, said Rick Sicha of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.

The not so great news: it’s federal funds, which means a long, detailed process has to be followed including impact studies (2007), alternatives analysis (’08), design and engineering (’09), and finally construction begins in 2010.

The process will be informed by the larger goals of the Cuyahoga Valley Initiative (CVI), a broad vision for regenerating the valley by finding new connections between transportation, business, and ecological thinking. As part of CVI, consultants Biohabitats, Inc. and Andropogon were hired by Cuyahoga County to study the brownfields around the Towpath and offer plans for ecological restoration.

Some of their ideas include planting a “River Terrace” or a natural riverbank filled with wetlands on the east bank, across from the Harshaw Chemical remediation site (location 2E on the map).

“We have to evaluate the contaminants in the soil, how much water is coming in, a bunch of nuances before we determine what we can do,” said Ivette Bolender, Water Resources Specialist with Biohabitats.

The natural edge could help reduce stormwater runoff and, depending on conditions, the area can be a testing ground for phytoremediation (using plants to draw the contaminants out of the soil), added Bolender. Estimates on the cost will follow the study.

Just downriver (4E on the map) the county wants Biohabitats to build a bioretention system below the Harvard-Denison Bridge that would consist of disconnecting the pipes that channel water into the storm sewer running off the surface of the bridge and let the water run into a rain garden instead (similar to what the Cuyahoga County Soil and Water Conservation District has done with rain gardens in suburban back yards).

The county and its lead consultant DLZ, also displayed concepts to redesign the dead zones under the Harvard-Denison Bridge and at Steelyard Commons with public art such as large-scale historical/interpretive images.

The funds for the rain gardens, wetlands, and public art have not been secured, Sicha says. The county plans on pursuing a separate pot of funds for that.