What we didn't realize was, as we poured a ceremonial Great Lakes Brewing Co. Burning River Pale Ale at the confluence of Lake Erie & the Cuyahoga River, as the day unfolded, we would learn much more about the soul of Cleveland and its people.
Read MoreHaving had 36 hours to reflect on Sunday night's historic NBA Finals Championship win by the Cleveland Cavaliers, several things struck us. First, we went slightly off Cleveland waterfront format when we rode the Cavs wave but we did our best to graft some Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie DNA onto our Twitter posts
Read MoreAs the nation's gaze turned to Cleveland, we took a trip to the Cuyahoga River waterfront to check out the Cleveland Cavaliers Game 4 NBA Finals festivities.
Read MoreAs the nation's gaze turned to Cleveland for game 3 of the NBA Finals, we thought we'd take a trip downtown to check out the game-time festivities outside Quicken Loans Arena.
Read MoreWhat has been a FABULOUS outcome of this process is the recognition and feedback from individuals and Cleveland stakeholders that there is a need and a huge appetite for an event like Ignite and we are already planning for: 1) a music event later this summer and 2) Ignite 2017.
Read MoreRiding along the Cuyahoga River gives one a better sense of the infrastructure grid that serves as a catalyst for the local and regional economy. See that steel bulkhead, see that dock, see that bridge, see those pipes & wires? Yeah, that's infrastructure and it matters!
Read MoreDid you feel a change in the Cleveland Force Thursday afternoon? A significant milestone was reached for the eastbound George V. Voinovich Bridge as the first of five closure girders was lifted into place.
Read MoreWon't be long before bars & restaurants along the Cuyahoga River are buzzing with activity: a look at our ride-along on the Cuyahoga River with Saint Joseph Academy Crew.
Read MoreAs the sun rose on a recent Saturday morning we found ourselves drawn to the Cuyahoga River to see how the approach of warmer temperatures was quickening the pulse of Cleveland's waterfront. We weren't disappointed.
Read MoreKayak enthusiasts hosted a race on the half-mile long urban section of the Cuyahoga River that flows through downtown Cuyahoga Falls and the Sheraton Suites.
Read More46 years after the first Earth Day, we took a stroll along Cleveland's Cuyahoga River to see how much has changed since it served as a launching point for the environmental movement.
Read More46 years after the first Earth Day we took a stroll along the Cuyahoga River to see how the body of water that helped launch the environmental movement is doing.
Read MoreIs there anything more beautiful than an early morning sunrise over a large body of water? We found out Wednesday morning as we rode along with St. Edward & St. Ignatius High School crew teams for a friendly on Lake Erie.
Read MoreWe camped out on the Detroit-Superior Bridge and snapped a few pics of the waves of St. Malachi Church Run runners as they crossed the Cuyahoga River on the out & back course.
Read MoreLast week the Great Lakes shipping season kicked off as Interlake Steamship Company's Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder ended its winter layover by transporting a load of iron ore from the Port of Cleveland's Bulk Terminal on Lake Erie to ArcelorMittal's steelmaking facility on the Cuyahoga River.
Read MoreThe myriad issues behind disposal of river sediment can be complex and to some, baffling. To others, it's a very simple matter: don't place anything in the lake. With that in mind, we thought we'd provide a few details on this dredging topic.
Read MoreA panel discussion will be held at Lakewood Public Library tonight giving several waterfront & neighborhood stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in on how waterfront development is paying off for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The Plain Dealer's Steven Litt will moderate the discussion with the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Cleveland Metroparks, Campus District Inc. and Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization. Details on the forum are in Steve's recent Plain Dealer article: http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2016/02/free_panel_discussion_tuesday.html
Ask 50 people what "paying off" means to them and you'll probably get 50 different answers: Improved property values, enhanced quality of life, increased tax receipts, space to relax, creation of jobs, improved health, leveraging local history as a branding element for tourism, increasing waterfront access for residents, and attracting new residents all come to mind. Some organizations have even attempted to quantify the value of green-spaces: in a 2013 study the Trust for Public Land found Cleveland Metroparks generates $855M annually for the local economy. https://www.tpl.org/clevelandeconbenefits
A great summary by seeyourwords.com of a 2014 waterfront forum at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
If we were to come up with just ONE answer to the "payoff" question we think it's found in the above See Your Words graphic recording from a 2014 waterfront forum at CSU's Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. Do you see it? "People want to be connected to our water". Indeed, the reason Moses Cleaveland and his team of surveyors chose Cleveland as the capital of the Western Reserve was its location on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.
We're a little envious at the successes Waterfront Toronto and Pittsburgh's Riverlife have fostered so thought we'd share some of our favorite "developments" that have helped connect Greater Cleveland's residents to THEIR water:
The City of Lakewood invested $2.2M in a major improvement to Lakewood Park.
The curving steps replaced a chain link fence that visually separated park visitors from Lake Erie.
The terraced design by Environmental Design Group's landscape architect Jeff Kerr, was inspired from memories of a Canadian canoe trip he took years ago.
Wendy Park is the only pubic park in Cuyahoga County that provides access to both Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.
Since its transfer to Cleveland Metroparks in June 2013 Wendy Park has been a hub for recreational activity on Lake Erie.
Volleyball leagues playing on the edge of Lake Erie.
In late 2011 Cleveland Rowing Foundation established a permanent home for rowing on the Cuyahoga River.
The addition of Cleveland Metroparks Merwin's Wharf and Crooked River Skatepark has added a new facet to the Cuyahoga River's vitality.
The Scranton Flats conversion shepherded by Canalway Partners has created a unique park-like setting on the banks of the Cuyahoga River.
The paved trail provides walkers, runners and cyclists unique views of Cleveland's waterfront.
As the Ohio & Erie Canalway Towpath extends farther into Cleveland, more people will be treated to awesome sights like this.
The $750M mixed use project has been a shot in the arm for Cleveland's Cuyahoga River waterfront.
A wide boardwalk provides public access to the riverfront that previously was the domain of private business owners.
Diners and boardwalk strollers enjoy unparalleled views of Cleveland's unique "Theater of the Waterfront".
That's a few of our faves - clearly in-process projects like The Foundry, a new rowing & sailing training facility on the east side of Columbus Road, Canal Basin Park's 20 acre redevelopment and Cumberland Development's 20 acre mixed-use development project at North Coast Harbor will add to the vitality of Cleveland's waterfront.
There will be many projects discussed during tonight's waterfront forum and we've got one fave that we feel delivers on a number of levels - Irishtown Bend.
Irishtown Bend is a curving 1/2 mile long section of waterfront on the west side of the Cuyahoga River between the Columbus Rd. and Detroit-Superior bridges.
The piece of property earned its name from the Irish immigrants who lived on it during the 1800's.
The hillside eventually became a repository for loose landfill.
Port of Cleveland surveys indicate a portion of the hill is unstable. Estimates indicate it would cost $49M to stabilize that section of the hill.
Stabilizing the hill is a key infrastructure project required to ensure passage of raw materials transported up the Cuyahoga River.
Once the hillside is stabilized, there are plans to establish a park and additional housing, adding to Ohio City's vibrancy.
Imagine taking an out-of-town visitor to a reimagined Irishtown Bend/Lake Link Trail and showing them this view of Cleveland!
A powerful complement to a revitalized Irishtown Bend would be Rotary of Cleveland's Redline Greenway providing a direct bike trail link from W. 65th St. to downtown Cleveland.
For now that's a brief wrap of Cleveland's waterfront scene. Check out our Twitter feed tonight for details during tonight's 7-8:30 pm waterfront meeting: https://twitter.com/sharetheriver
Back in September local environmental, sport-fishing and naturalist circles went deservedly bonkers over a Plain Dealer article about a Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District water monitoring survey team finding a walleye fingerling 10 miles from the mouth of Lake Erie, a rarity on the heavily industrialized Cuyahoga River. Cuyahoga River Restoration's Executive Director, Jane Goodman, said "Fish are our benchmark, our canary in the coal mine".
But a couple of months later we had our own canary moment when we learned a pair of river otters had set up shop in the 33,000 acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park where the Cuyahoga River winds its way between Akron and Cleveland. How could we just be learning this top of the river food chain mammal and key indicator of a freshwater ecosystem's health can be viewed just a short hike from Cleveland or Akron? So a few weeks ago we headed down to Peninsula's Riverview Rd. between Bolanz and Ira roads. Check out what we saw just off the marsh's boardwalk:
image by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Turns out river otters used to be plentiful across the nation but water pollution from industrial runoff pretty much wiped out the aquatic food chain, leading to a 75% spiral in river otter populations in the mid-to-late 1800's. By the late 1960's U.S. cities and their citizens realized they had to protect their waterways and, with the help of the 1972 Clean Water Act, ecosystems and habitats eventually rebounded to a point where 21 states felt conditions were right to implement river otter restoration projects.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife reintroduced river otters in 1986, releasing 123 otters relocated from Louisiana and Arkansas into 4 river systems. The project went so well that by 2012, river otter populations had swelled to over 8,000. Earliest reports had river otters finding their way into the Cuyahoga National Valley Park in August 2010 and subsequent park surveys confirmed their arrival in 2011.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Biologist, Meg Plona, says five young (and 2 adults) were first observed in the Beaver Marsh in 2013. Beavers created the marsh after the Portage Trail Group of the Sierra Club helped clean up an auto junk yard formerly located at that site in 1984. "We don't know exactly where the adult pair at Beaver Marsh came from" says Plona "Having made a great comeback they were de-listed as a state endangered species in 2002 and presently occur throughout eastern Ohio, including their return to CVNP."
When asked about the status of the adult pair's offspring Plona added "We don't know where the offspring are or what they are up to, as they are not marked animals - young otters are self-sufficient by the time they are 5 to 6 months old, but the family group remains intact for at least 7 or 8 months or until just prior to a new litter. Yearling otters can disperse up to 20 miles or more from where they were reared." Plona says the river otters are protected like all native mammals in the park, 'however there are no "special" protections or management strategies in place for the otters at this time."
Plona notes there are optimal times to see the otters "River otter sightings at the Beaver Marsh usually occur in the very early morning when there is minimal human disturbance. In general, these mammals are also very active at dusk and throughout the night feeding on fish."
Want to marvel at the Cuyahoga River Valley's comeback? Take a trip to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and go see the river otters for yourself! Once you do, perhaps you'll consider sponsoring a Beaver Marsh acre via the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park!
In this viral video era of skateboarding dogs, cats freaking out over cucumbers, and kids doing an endless variety of cute things, there's no telling who or what will be the next transient social media star. That's why we took notice a couple of weeks ago when a time-lapse video of Interlake Steamship Company's Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder heading up Cleveland's Cuyahoga River went from a personal share on a Facebook page to being distributed nationally by design & technology blog Gizmodo.
Like many viral videos it started innocently enough - Jeremy Mock, Master (Captain) of the 711 foot long, 70 foot wide Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder, received a GoPro for Christmas and he lashed it to the Dorothy Ann's 75 foot high bridge before a 3 hour run from the Port of Cleveland's bulk loading terminal on Lake Erie to ArcelorMittal's steelmaking facility 5 1/2 miles up the Cuyahoga River.
On January 3rd Mock posted the 24 second time-lapse video to his personal Facebook thinking his friends would enjoy seeing what he sees. Mock recounted the night after the video first went public as he was sitting in the Dorothy Ann's galley when his 3rd assistant said "Your vid is up to 3,000 views and I bet it will hit 5,000 by midnight". Mock adds "It was the joke on the ship - I couldn't understand it. Then it zoomed right past 20,000 views. That original Facebook post now has over 85,000 views".
Interlake Steamship Company subsequently shared the video on their Facebook and a day later MLive.com (Michigan's largest news and information site, 11M digital readers/month) called Mock and ran a story on the video. A few days later, Gizmodo posted it on their Facebook (1.25M followers) and Sploid blog.
MLive Website Post (11M readers/month)
Gizmodo Facebook post (1.26M Followers)
"It goes to show the power of social media and I'm pleased the video has touched a lot of people" said Mock. When asked why so many people have an affinity for Great Lakes ships like his, Mock replies "a lot of our audience are people who had family members work on the ships, and when they see this enormous vessel passing a beach or a port, it reminds them of their history."
Interlake Steamship Company's President, Mark Barker, has embraced social media as a way to inform the public on the merits of the maritime shipping industry. "It's great that people get to see what our talented employees do while learning about the positive impact our industry has on the local, regional and national economy"
"We're a silent operation so folks don't know that much about us. People see trucks and rail cars all the time but ships aren't as visible - we come into a port, unload, and leave. In the Great Lakes our industry transports 100 million tons of raw materials per year in a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly manner. That's a great story that needs to get out there".
A different look at the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder heading up the Cuyahoga River
Chrissy Kadleck, Interlake's public relations coordinator, loves connecting with freighter fans by providing insight and engaging content about behind-the-scenes ship operations and industry news.
"It's a wonderful opportunity as a company to be able to highlight what our highly skilled and well-trained employees do every day working on the Great Lakes," says Kadleck. "You have to remember our ships aren’t typical workplaces as our employees live and work on our ships 24-7. Many people don't realize people are still working on the lakes.”
Kadleck loves how Interlake's fans share pictures and videos of the company’s fleet and she likes fostering conversations with the community by answering questions posted on Interlake's Facebook page. "It's my goal to create a compelling conversation with our fans. It’s important to have that the back and forth so I aim to answer every question and message we receive in a timely fashion.” Popular posts run the gamut from, weather related items such as waterspouts, lightning, and large waves to ship repowering projects and the expansion of emission-reduction efforts to 1/3 of its fleet.
"We never know what's going to take off with our audience," says Kadleck. "But our genuine connection also allows us to inform them on strategic issues impacting the Great Lakes shipping industry such as expansion of the Soo Locks, a new heavy icebreaker for the Great Lakes, dredging and uniform federal regulation of ballast water."
As the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder sits at an Erie, PA shipyard for its winter lay-up before heading back out on the Great Lakes late February, Master Jeremy Mock reflects on the Cuyahoga River's uniqueness in the Great Lakes system. "The Buffalo River is somewhat comparable in terms of twists and turns but the Cuyahoga River is like nowhere else - it's a completely unique beast".
On this Throwback Thursday we're revisiting an event that served as a tipping point in the relationship between two Cuyahoga River stakeholders: the maritime industry and Cleveland's H2O recreation community.
Cleveland Rowing Foundation's Head of the Cuyahoga Regatta (HOTC) is Cleveland's annual rowing event where over 2,000 scholastic, collegiate and adult rowers from 26 cities, 9 states and 2 countries travel to Cleveland to compete on a 4,800 meter course that's renowned for its curvy path. In 2013 HOTC volunteers headed upriver before dawn under leaden rainy skies to set buoys for the course but when they rounded the turn at the Innerbelt Bridge they saw an obvious problem - two Canadian flagged freighters were parked on either side of the Cuyahoga River, effectively cutting the race course in half.
Under a federal rule the Cuyahoga River (a federal navigation channel) is closed to freighter traffic from 7 am - 4 pm during the HOTC. Due to a series of miscommunications, the freighters had traveled upriver the night before, unaware of the HOTC the following day. Regatta organizers conferred with the U.S. Coast Guard and after it was determined it would take too long for the freighters to be moved, a decision was made to cut the race distance by half. Cleveland's skies eventually turned sunny and racers and spectators had a great day on the river.
As news broke about the inadvertent "blockade", someone was heard to say "this will probably get the HOTC more PR than if the freighters hadn't been there". That prognostication was on target as local media saw the promise of a story that illustrated the challenges associated with commercial and recreational stakeholders sharing the same body of water.
Plain Dealer columnist Mike McIntyre's story on the freighter kerfuffle ran on page A4 in the following Sunday's paper and many saw this event as a catalyst for substantive and fruitful conversations about the shared use of the Cuyahoga River. http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2013/09/freighters_blockade_cuyahoga_r.html
Two weeks later, the Plain Dealer's Robert L. Smith wrote an excellent piece on the "challenges" resulting from a cleaner, greener, and more popular Cuyahoga River. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/cleaner_greener_cuyahoga_river.html
In the two years since the freighter incident, cooperation and communication between recreational and maritime stakeholders has evolved to a point where both parties recognize the Cuyahoga's rising tide of popularity can lift all boats. And Saturday's regatta will give out-of-towners a great opportunity to see how Cleveland's re-energized waterfront is a catalyst for economic development. If you're a local, head down to the Cuyahoga River this Saturday to see it as you've never seen it before!
