The Towpath Comes to Cleveland An Important Moment for Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, the Ohio & Erie Canalway, and Northeast Ohio July 30th was a great day in Cleveland. In a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m., ground was broken on Cleveland's first publicly funded section of the Towpath Trail. This project - known as Scranton Flats - represents both the physical beginning of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath's journey to the doorstep of downtown Cleveland and a major project along the Cuyahoga River. The event itself brought current and retired State, County, City and Local Organizations together for the official groundbreaking, which was followed by a community groundbreaking - open to all - in a BYOS (Bring Your Own Shovel) event.
Project Goals 1) Restores 2,800 feet of natural shoreline 2) Creates a major fish habitat – transforming the boat marina into two-acre habitat  3) Provides public access through construction of first publicly built 2/3 mile section of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cleveland Remediates and restores nine acres of upland into meadowland
			Press coverage  Post Event  Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial Cleveland Plain Dealer event story Akron Beacon Journal News Channel 5 (picked up by NBCNEWS and Yahoo Finance)  90.3 WCPN (audio and transcript) Pre Event Plain Dealer Tipoff Crain's Cleveland Business News Channel 5 Cool Cleveland Fresh Water Cleveland
Collaboration at its finest This project was made possible through the support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Fund, which awarded two grants that totaled $3 million - the largest combined award for a project. It also includes a Clean Ohio land acquisition award totaling $3.175 million - the largest award in the state's history; State of Ohio Cultural Arts Facilities grant of $500,000; a Clean Ohio Trail grant totaling $425,000; and additional funding, including $134,069 towards habitat planting from U.S. Fish & Wildlife.

Thank you to the hundreds who got in on the fun - and showed their support for the Towpath's arrival

 - online, around town and at the event

 

		Our Speakers    Our thanks - in alphabetical order - to U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman, Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally, Cuyahoga County Executive Edward FitzGerald, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Former Congressman Ralph Regula, and Cleveland Metroparks Executive Director Brian Zimmerman for joining Ohio Canal Corridor's Executive Director Tim Donovan in the groundbreaking ceremony along Scranton Road. Photos
		The Attendees  More than 250 people showed up at the ceremony to show their support of the Towpath and Cleveland - and to participate in a community groundbreaking. More here.
		BYOS (Bring Your Own Shovel) Virtual Attendees   Our fun, new photo campaign    let people who couldn't attend the groundbreaking     show their virtual support for the July 30th arrival of   the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cleveland!      We brought you with us! Take a look :)

Here's how it worked

The BYOS campaign was simple - take a photo with a shovel and show your support for the Towpath Trail's arrival in Cleveland and by doing so, become part of Towpath Trail history.

Online

Send us a picture of yourself and a shovel. You can be digging, running, biking, posing, or doing any fun Towpath activity. Please submit your picture to trutti@ohiocanal.org. Do not forget to include your name and contact information. Without this, we can't enter you into the drawing. 

Around Town

The Ohio Canal Corridor will have a booth at a number of events over the next few weeks - see the list below. Visit us at any of these events to take your virtual groundbreaking photograph. We will provide the shovel and the camera.  

At the Groundbreaking Ceremony

We invite you to bring your own shovel (BYOS) to the groundbreaking - really! After the official groundbreaking, we'll have a community groundbreaking ceremony. To participate, simply bring your favorite shovel. Remember, it's moments like these that demonstrate which projects are truly important to the residents of  our community.
 

As our Thank You

We'll be giving away a $100 gift certificate to LockKeepers to one BYOS participant. LockKeepers - located in Valley View's Thornburg Station along the Towpath Trail - was named the best fine dining restaurant in Cleveland Magazine's 2012 Silver Spoon issue. We will contact the winner of the random drawing after the event - stay tuned to learn the winner!!  

Show your support to the world - like our Facebook pages too!

		BYOS events Thanks to the 500+ for joining us at BYOS "golden" shovel events all over Cleveland!

BYOS Photos - Over 500+ showing support for the Towpath in Cleveland!

• BYOS - Walk & Dine - July 11, 2012 - In these photos, some folks chose to pay homage to American Gothic, while others simply celebrated the Towpath's upcoming arrival in Cleveland. See if you can spot Clevelanders you know in this group of photos from the 15th Annual Walk & Dine, which kicked off in Cleveland's beautiful Arcade.
  • Raising a Shovel for the Towpath Trail - Walk & Dine photos here

• BYOS - Taste of Tremont - July 15, 2012 - Find folks you know celebrating the Towpath's upcoming arrival in Cleveland. These photos taken on Professor Avenue.
  
  • Raising a Shovel for the Towpath Trail - Taste of Tremont photos here

• BYOS - Wade Oval Wednesday - July 18 & 25, 2012 - UCI President Chris Ronayne and fellow concert-goers join the BYOS campaign celebrating the Towpath's upcoming arrival in Cleveland. 
  
  • Raising a Shovel for the Towpath Trail - Wade Oval Wednesday photos - 7/18/12 - here
  • Raising a Shovel for the Towpath Trail - Wade Oval Wednesday photos - 7/25/12 - here
    

• BYOS - Burning River Fest - July 21 & 22, 2012 - Were you among the many who raised a golden shovel to show support for the Towpath Trail's arrival in Cleveland? 
  • Raising a Shovel for the Towpath Trail - Burning River Fest photos - Saturday, July 21 - here
  • Raising a Shovel for the Towpath Trail - Burning River Fest photos - Sunday, July 22 - here
     

Towpath Trail Groundbreaking Ceremony - July 30th

In a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. on July 30th, ground will be broken on Cleveland's first publicly funded section of the Towpath Trail. This project represents the physical beginning of the Towpath's journey to the doorstep of downtown Cleveland.  
 
Senator Sherrod Brown, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cuyahoga County Executive Edward FitzGerald, Cleveland Metroparks Director Brian Zimmerman and Ohio Canal Corridor Executive Director Tim Donovan are on board to speak at the event.

BYOS to the Groundbreaking too - it's a community celebration

Tim Donovan, also Co-Executive Director of the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area has an invitation to the entire community. "Whether joining our virtual BYOS campaign, or coming to the groundbreaking - we're asking Clevelanders to join us and show their support. By bringing out a large group of supporters, it also helps us demonstrate how popular and necessary the Towpath is to the community."
 

Collaboration at its finest

This project is an amazing collaboration of local, state, and federal efforts. It was made possible through the support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative fund, which awarded two grants that totaled $3 million. It also includes a Clean Ohio land acquisition award totaling $3.175 million, a Clean Ohio Trail grant totaling $425,000, and an Ohio State Capital grant from the Cultural Arts Facilities     of $500,000.
 
This groundbreaking is hosted by the Ohio Canal Corridor, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the Cleveland Metroparks.  

How to join in at the July 30th event

There will be both an official ceremony and groundbreaking, followed by a community groundbreaking. Community members are invited to literally "Bring Your Own Shovel" to participate in the community portion of the event.

An R.S.V.P. is not required. However, we ask that you join our facebook event page to help us estimate attendance.     
 
Particulars
When: July 30, 2012 @ 11 a.m.
Where: Scranton Road Peninsula (approx. 1871 Scranton Rd.) Cleveland, Ohio 44113; Parking available on Scranton between Eagle & University.