CIMPERMAN: (singing) I got a mule and her name is Sal…
Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman was one of many officials on hand today to celebrate the extension of the Towpath Trail.
The Towpath of course follows the trail of the old Erie Canal. It runs over 80 miles, connecting communities throughout Northeast Ohio.
The goal is to now extend the multi-use trail into downtown Cleveland. It will eventually run from Harvard Avenue to the Canal Basin Park, just under the Detroit-Superior Bridge.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson spoke at the event.
JACKSON: This is the first step. It is one of the steps we have to take in order to ensure the connectivity of Cleveland and its neighborhoods to the Towpath.
The trail is used by many for walking, hiking and riding bikes.
Mark Raymond is one of those bike riders and says he’s
RAYMOND: Just excited now that I live in Ohio City that it’ll be coming closer to where I live and hopefully many thousands of people will be able to enjoy it, get to the lake, and enjoy the things in Cleveland.
This phase of the project will also restore shoreline and meadowland, and transform the boat marina into a two acre fish habitat.
But there are several more miles to go—and some dollars to secure, plans to iron out—before the 6-mile stretch of the trail into Cleveland will be completed. The target date is 2016.
Anne Glausser, 90.3