Cleveland has a lot of nicknames, but at the Mandel Community Trail celebration and ribbon cutting on Sept. 22, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne declared a new one – that Cleveland is “Trail City, U.S.A.”
Executives gathered outside Burke Lakefront Airport at the 2.7-mile paved Mandel Community Trail to celebrate the completion of the trail that serves as the “missing link” of the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and connects to an existing trail from E. 55th Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Traveling along the north side of North Marginal Road, the trail provides connections between downtown Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to lakefront destinations including E. 55th Street Marina, the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center and Gordon Park.
“Whether you’re 8 years old or you’re 80 years old, you should have an eight-minute walk or ride to a high-quality park amenity,” Brian Zimmerman, CEO of the Cleveland Metroparks, said. “This, today, helps capture a tremendous link that was missing, creating a great place to walk, hike or bike. It truly represents partnerships, and when partners work together, we create progress for this community.”
The new trail is a partnership between Cuyahoga County, which managed construction of the project, the Cleveland Metroparks, which will manage and operate the trail, and the city of Cleveland supporting Mayor Justin Bibb’s Cleveland ERA agenda.
Prior to the project, pedestrians and cyclists traveling along this portion of North Marginal Road were required to share the roadway with vehicles to reach lakefront destinations on Cleveland’s east side.
According to Ronayne, the completion of this trail is just a start as the county has around 60 miles of new trails planned over the next five years through the Cuyahoga County Greenways Plan to create a connected, county-wide link.
“These investments are helping us make a more connected county and making our region’s natural assets more available for our residents to enjoy,” Ronayne said. “The goal is simple – give people a more safe, convenient way to move through communities at all ages and experience everything that Cuyahoga County’s lakefront and green spaces have to offer.”
Named by a $5 million gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, the Mandel Community Trail is funded in part by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, NOACA, through the Federal Highway Administration’s Carbon Reduction Program, and local match funds from Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland.
“The partnerships have made it possible,” Stephen H. Hoffman, board chair of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, said. “...The Mandel brothers believed that strong neighborhoods create strong communities. They understood that thoughtful investments in public spaces would improve the quality of life for all Cleveland residents.”
Investing in Cleveland’s East side lakefront, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation has committed $21 million in support for the Mandel Community Trail and additional trail improvements, enhancements to the 48-acre portion of Gordon Park south of Interstate 90 between East 72nd Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Boathouse at the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center.