CLEVELAND, Ohio – Check off as done one of the ideas landscape architect and planner Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. envisioned more than a century ago for what eventually became the Cleveland Metroparks.
The Metroparks on Tuesday opened a new connector trail, linking the Rocky River Valley to the Kamm’s Corners neighborhood above.
Though just one-third of a mile long, the Old Lorain Connector provides important relief away from a narrow, winding road that didn’t have room for sidewalks or a path from top to bottom.
“I like it. Now it’s easier for me to come down here to go fishing,” 11-year-old River Dillon said, his friend trailing behind on foot with two fishing poles in hand.
That’s not far from what Olmsted likely had in mind when he wrote, during visits in 1915 and 1916, that “There is an excellent opportunity for an attractive approach on a good grade following the line of the old road, but it is essential to protect the bank of the ravine through which the road descends.”
The $2.7 million project was completed in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development, county and city.
The road itself is frequently plagued by erosion and broken pavement. There is little to no flat space on either side of the pavement.
To get around that issue, part of the path does not follow the road.
River Dillon, 11, heads down the the Old Lorain Connector hours after the official opening of the Cleveland Metroparks path connecting Cleveland’s Kamm’s Corners neighborhood to the Rocky River Valley.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
Instead, it begins to the south on Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital property near the intersection of Riveredge Road and Bradgate Avenue. From there, it wraps around a Cleveland Clinic employee parking garage before meeting the road roughly halfway down the hill.
Dropping 112 feet overall, only a small portion of the path is flat.
Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman said Tuesday’s opening marked a long-awaited celebration of bringing the connection vision into reality, a theme echoed by Councilman Charles Slife.
“Kamm’s Corners sits right next to the Rocky River Metropark, and yet because of the steep cliffs, it’s almost impossible to get to on foot,” Councilman Charles Slife said. “Now, people from Kamm’s will not only have easy walking access to the Metropark, but they’ll also be connected to the 33 miles of trails that make up Emerald Necklace Trail.”
The Old Lorain Road Connector Trail, highlighted in yellow, links the Cleveland Metroparks by the Little Met Golf Course to neighborhoods adjacent to the Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital.Cleveland Metroparks