BIG CREEK
The Ohio & Erie Canalway includes a number of key tributaries of the Cuyahoga River. One such tributary is Big Creek, which pours into the Cuyahoga River in the lower Harvard Avenue/ Jennings Road area. This tributary offers a rare opportunity to reclaim a valley that has traditionally separated two Cleveland neighborhoods: Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre.
The drive to reclaim it is spurred by the possibility of aligning a trail spur which could connect the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo & Rainforest with the Towpath Trail. If this trail connection could be made, it would create a connection not only with the Towpath, but also with a future train station for an extended Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Imagine visitors from Akron departing the train to hop aboard a zoo tram for a short one-mile trip to the zoo.
Beyond the benefit of the connection with the zoo for visitors and residents, the reclamation of the Big Creek valley would reintroduce a natural area asset to theneighborhoods and could lure new investment into the adjoining residential and commercial districts. Indeed, the Main Street Plan developed by the Old Brooklyn Development Corporation with input from Ohio Canal Corridor shows a strategic advantage of merging complimentary investment for both the upland West 25 Street/ Pearl Road/ Broadview Road area and the lowland Big Creek Valley.
There has been a dedicated planning effort to investigate these potentials under the direction of NOACA. The Big Creek Study has identified a numer of inter-connected issues that will impact the future of this valley - from hillside subsidence to environmental remediation areas, from transportation and access to land uses.
A grassroots citizen-based organization has emerged to promote these ideas - the Friends of Big Creek (FOBC). They have extended the original area of concern to include the stretch of Big Creek which runs from Cleveland's Brookside Park to Brookpark Road, where Cleveland Metroparks maintains a linear trail/greenway.
To learn more, visit http://www.friendsofbigcreek.org/
Trail
BywayScenic
Railroad
Mill Creek
Canal Basin
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