SCENIC BYWAY
The Ohio & Erie Canalway (a National Heritage Area) benefits from the additional national designation of an America's Byway: Ohio & Erie Canalway Byway. For the heritage area, the Byway acts as one of three transportation options for visitors to explore the stories of settlement and development, of industry and immigration, of nature and transportation. Many consider it the asphalt spine of the Ohio & Erie Canalway, connecting the many diverse natural, cultural, and recreational attractions found between Cleveland and Dover/New Philadelphia.
The history of this designation both parallels and competes with that of the National Heritage Designation. Congress introduced the National Scenic Byway program as a component of the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 - thereafter named ISTEA. According to the legislation, this new program offered a set of national criteria for states to adopt, and, in doing so, to establish common criteria and programming guidelines for Byways across America. The bill established a separate fund within the Transportation Bill for Byways; it also established a Resource Center that would coordinate activities, provide technical assistance, and, most importantly, would create an umbrella marketing camapaign for all designated Byways. visit: www.byways.org.
Ohio was one of many states that had an established Scenic Byway program in 1991. The question in our state was "Would it change to accomodate the new regualtions and criteria proposed under ISTEA?"
In 1993, Ohio Canal Corridor hosted a series of events with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to commemorate the opening of the Towpath Trail within the 20+ mile stretch within its boundary. One of the events, Thinking Corridor, introduced the opportunity to explore the identification and eventual designation of a "route of existing roads" that would serve visitors to the Ohio & Erie Canalway. In 1993, Summit County Engineer's Office, under Paul Swanson and Randy Coles, invited representatives from the four affected counties to form a Task Force. By June of 1996, paperwork was complete and ODOT deisgnated its first new Scenic Byway under ISTEA guidelines for the Ohio & Erie Canalway. Within a month, a grant application was submitted to FHWA for a Byway Marker system.
The National Heritage Area status was conferred in November of 1996, when Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Omnibus Parks Bill of 1996.
The first two attempts to win National Byway status proved unsuccesful; the third attempt framed the argument within the Ohio & Erie Canalway Management Plan, which clearly indicated the intimate relationship the Byway would play in the developemnt of the National Heritrage Area.
The Byway is the "collector/distributor" roadway that leads visitors, near and far, to the package of natural, cultural, historic and recreational destinations within the Canalway. It is also the "information highway" as it signs directions and leads to minor and major points of interpretation. Finally, the Canalway Byway provides a true opportunity to " brand" the whole experience of the Ohio & Erie Canalway - through signage, banners, and an overlay of artistic impressions of visitor destinations.
Today, we are planning our next phase of signs that will fulfill the mission of providing information and interpretation to our visitors. At the same time, these sign products will become the foundation of our identity-building exercise.
The Byway itself offers drivers a wide array of landscapes and settings which trace the stories of regional growth and development. From it, travelers will find easy access to the Towpath Trail and the Scenic Railroad passenger stations. The Ohio & Erie Canalway Byway is both a State and National Scenic Byway.
For more information on the America's Byway program, visit the webiste, www.byways.org
Trail
BywayScenic
Railroad
Mill Creek
Canal Basin
Park
