CLEVELAND — The Cleveland City Council green-lit a $3 million appropriation this week to help fund a beach trail connector project along the eastern lakefront near the Collinwood neighborhood. Following a similar model pioneered by nearby Euclid, the project includes shoreline stabilization and erosion control measures for nearby homeowners in exchange for an expansion of public access to Lake Erie.
The city’s $3 million contribution to the Euclid Beach Trail Connector Project will come from the city’s waterfront activation fund, which is comprised of American Rescue Plan dollars. Cuyahoga County, which is leading the project, will contribute more than $6 million. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is also contributing $1.5 million, with the remaining balance coming from state and federal grants.
The proposal sailed through committee hearings Monday before receiving full council approval.
“It offers a good return on our money, our investment,” said Councilman Mike Polensek (Ward 8). “It provides that connectivity, which I have long sought, to connect the lakefront to St. Clair and south and beyond. This is a big step in connecting the lakefront to our neighborhoods, to where people live.”
The project area begins near the western edge of Euclid Creek Reservation near Euclid Beach Pier. The trail connector will be built along the lakefront, stretching approximately two-thirds of a mile toward the west. According to planning documents submitted to council, the trail connector will help stabilize the quickly deteriorating bluff overlooking the lake, which has suffered severe erosion over the past few years. Photographs included in the plan show large swaths of the lakefront have been eaten away, leaving some homes perilously close to falling in.
After stabilization work is complete, a walking and biking path will be built, providing the public with a chance to access part of the lake that has long been private property.
“Anything that is going to make that easier for more and more people to get to access [the lake] is going to be great,” said Matt Jackson, who visits Euclid Creek Reservation multiple times per week. “I think any improvements to any of the different Metroparks are well worth the investment to bring more people, more locals and people visiting, to experience the best parts of our city.”
Both the form and the function of the trail connector project closely resemble a similar endeavor in nearby Euclid.
In conjunction with Cuyahoga County, the City of Euclid designed and built a new trail and pier extending into the lake from nearby Sims Park. Being built in phases, the Euclid lakefront project uniquely solved a problem that has long proved vexing for city planners: How do you increase public access to Lake Erie when most of the land is privately owned?
In the end, city officials gave those homeowners an offer they couldn’t refuse: taxpayers will pay for erosion control so long as the property owner allows for a public easement. The first two phases of the project were completed in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Since then, momentum for similar projects along the lakefront has been building.
“I think it’s one of those things where there is still lots of room for improvement throughout all of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County,” Jackson said. “I think it will be a great way to open up some more activities for lots of families and anyone in the community that wants to get involved in different aspects of the city.”
Design and permitting work on trail connector projects are expected to take the rest of the year. Construction is expected to begin in 2024.
