1:00 pm-2:30 pm: Summit Kickoff: Meet the People and Places of the Industrial Heartland (A)

The Industrial Heartland is a place where stories abound. While the natural resources and beauty of the region are spectacular, the people and communities that call it home are what make it truly special. Join us as we travel around the region to see places transformed by trails, explore the communities impacted by them, and meet the people who are working tirelessly to make these trail development projects a reality. You will experience the Industrial Heartland through engaging video pieces and live discussion on topics like entrepreneurship, community development and identity, elected officials & decision makers and tourism. This session will kick off the week of events ahead, introducing the topics, people and places that will shape our upcoming Summit workshops.

2:30 pm-3:30 pm: Trails Beyond Pandemic – New Approaches from Lessons Learned (B)

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact in our world. Though many effects are negative, trails, parks and public spaces witnessed some positive impacts such as increased use and new users. In this session, emerging leaders in park and community-space management will discuss the pandemic-related implications for trail use, connectivity, equity, health & well-being and especially, how these “lessons from the pandemic” can inform new approaches to facility access, programming, design and operations as we move forward.

3:45 pm-5:00 pm: Showcase of Trails: Projects, Programs & Champions (C)

The Showcase of Trails for the Greater Cleveland area recognizes and awards outstanding trail, water trail and bikeway projects, as well as creative trail programming, creative community engagement events, and people who have made notable contributions to the advancement of trails and bikeways throughout their career.

5:00 pm-6:00 pm: Virtual Happy Hour Mixer (D)

Join your colleagues and friends from around the region for this post-summit informal virtual mixer. In lieu of actually going to get a refreshment together, let's say hello, catch up on the most surreal of years past and look forward to a brighter future.

9:00 am-9:30 am: General Networking Rooms (E)

Coffee chat, hallway conversations ... since we cannot be together in person, join our virtual morning networking rooms to say hello and chat with fellow summit participants.

9:30 am-10:30 am: Akron Civic Commons: Co-Creation, Co-Design and Co-Stewardship of Accessible, Equitable and Welcoming Parks, Trails and Public Spaces (F)

Since 2017, community residents, City of Akron officials, community partners and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition have been working together to create accessible, equitable and welcoming parks, trails and public spaces along 3 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Akron, Ohio. Guided by the principles of relationship building, socioeconomic mixing, value creation and environmental sustainability, Akron Civic Commons is leveraging over $20 million in private, local, state and federal resources in the redevelopment of Lock 3 and Summit Lake Parks.

10:30 am-11:00 am: Workshop Focus Breakouts (G)

Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep dive into the topics covered in the “Akron Civic Commons: Co-Creation, Co-Design and Co-Stewardship of Accessible, Equitable and Welcoming Parks, Trails and Public Spaces” summit session.

11:15 am-12:15 pm: Embrace the Lake: CHEERS for Access, Equity, and a Resilient Future in Cleveland (H)

The Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Study (CHEERS) area sits at the intersection of social vulnerability and environmental risk. CHEERS seeks to expand habitat, increase resilience and connect area residents to the lakefront. Working with community partners and local organizations, the team created flexible and approachable engagement strategies to reach the most vulnerable residents. This strategy toolkit evolved as they learned more about the community and found new ways to overcome challenges. Findings include the importance of walking tours and other short-term engagements to build park and trail users as partners seek to create long-term improvements to the lakefront.

12:15 pm-12:45 pm: Workshop Focus Breakouts (i)

Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep dive into the topics covered in the “Embrace the Lake: CHEERS for Access, Equity, and a Resilient Future in Cleveland” summit session.

IN PERSON TOUR: 2:00 pm-3:15 pm: Red Line Greenway Tour (Tour1A) [Sold Out]

Join staff from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Cleveland Metroparks (and LAND studio) to learn how the Red Line Greenway developed from a Rotary Club project more than 40 years ago to a conceptual plan to a trail being built in part through a federal USDOT Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. This linear greenway provides needed park space, recreation and active transportation options in a portion of the city of Cleveland with few of these amenities. Staff will cover how this trail could be enhanced to further connect the neighborhoods in the near future. Participants are required to review and submit the Waiver at the bottom of this page.

IN PERSON TOUR: 2:00 pm-3:30 pm: Bicycle Tour of the Towpath Trail & Canal Basin Park (Tour1B) [Sold Out]

Participants will enjoy a 2-mile guided bike ride along the newest segments of the $50 million Towpath Trail Extension Project. The tour will start at Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood and finish at the Towpath Trail’s northern terminus at Canal Basin Park by the Cuyahoga River. When completed in early summer, the project will cap a $50 million effort by project partners including the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Cleveland Metroparks and Canalway Partners to extend the Towpath Trail 6 miles from Harvard Avenue to the entry point of the historic Ohio & Erie Canal. Canal Basin Park will serve as an interpretive park and connective hub to nearby trails, including the 101-mile-long towpath trail connecting to Zoar & New Philadelphia. Participants are required to review and submit the Waiver at the bottom of this page.

9:00 am-9:30 am: General Networking Rooms (J)

Coffee chat, hallway conversations ... since we cannot be together in person, join our virtual morning networking rooms to say hello and chat with fellow summit participants.

9:30 am-10:30 am: Synergies of the Towpath (K)

Speakers will lead participants through a brief history of the Towpath Trail’s development in Cleveland and how this trail has been used as a catalyst to launch additional, coordinated projects, including Canal Basin Park, Heritage Boat Docks, Irishtown Bend Park, Vision for the Valley and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant projects in and around the Cleveland Flats neighborhood. Updates on these projects will be provided along with information about how they relate to the Towpath Trail.

10:30 am-11:00 am: Workshop Focus Breakouts (L)

Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep dive into the topics covered in the “Synergies of the Towpath” summit session.

11:15 am-12:15 pm: The Euclid Waterfront: Innovative Lakefront Development For All (M)

Learn from a 2018 Greater Cleveland Trails & Greenways Conference Showcase award winner at this virtual presentation and Q&A. Participants will learn how the City of Euclid over a period of 12 years took from concept to completion a precedent-setting public-private partnership to create a three-quarter mile public access trail along historically privatized property. The project, designed and engineered by SmithGroup, is hailed as the model for opening up Lake Erie to public access across the region. Currently, the City of Euclid participates in the SmithGroup-led Cuyahoga County Lakefront Public Access Plan as a Steering Committee Member and is one of thirteen communities leading the first Shoreline Special Improvement District in the State of Ohio across two counties. During the session we will take a deep dive into current contexts, opportunities and challenges, strategies, best practices and much more!

12:15 pm-12:45 pm: Workshop Focus Breakouts (N)

Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep dive into the topics covered in the “The Euclid Waterfront: Innovative Lakefront Development For All” summit session.

IN PERSON TOUR: 2:00 pm-3:15 pm: From Concept to Completion: Euclid Waterfront Walkshop (Tour 2A) [Sold Out]

Learn from a 2018 Greater Cleveland Trails & Greenways Conference Showcase award winner at this “walkshop” along the Euclid Waterfront. Participants will learn how the City of Euclid, over a period of 12 years, took from concept to completion a precedent-setting public-private partnership to create a 0.75-mile public access trail along historically privatized property. The project is hailed as the model for opening up Lake Erie to public access across the region as well as leading the innovative Shoreline Special Improvement District. The project will be substantially complete by the end of 2021, and part of the walkshop will be a behind-the-scenes construction tour. During the approximately 1.5-mile walk, we will take a deep dive into current contexts, opportunities and challenges, strategies, best practices and much more! Participants are required to review and submit the Waiver at the bottom of this page.

IN PERSON TOUR: 2:00 pm-3:45 pm: Hemlock Creek Trail Site Visit (Tour 2B) [Sold Out]

The Hemlock Creek Trail is one of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s community connector trails and a critical segment in the overarching West Creek Greenway – a 21-miles-plus intercommunity trail system extending through Parma, Seven Hills, Brooklyn Heights and Independence. The site visit will include a hike into the valley, through public-private-federal land, including two municipalities. The trail includes adaptive reuse of former rights-of-way and closed roads as well as bridges. Highlighted on the tour will be the former Haydite mine, the complexity of crossing the Cuyahoga River, interfacing with the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, as well as present and future opportunities. Participants are required to review and submit the Waiver at the bottom of this page.

9:00 am-9:30 am: General Networking Rooms (O)

Coffee chat, hallway conversations ... since we cannot be together in person, join our virtual morning networking rooms to say hello and chat with fellow summit participants.

9:30 am-10:30 am: Trails and the Outdoor Economy – Building Community in West Virginia (P)

Trails and trail networks are significant drivers of the outdoor economy and community development across the Industrial Heartland and the United States. In West Virginia, trails play a central role in a new initiative of the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative (OEDC) at West Virginia University: a remote worker program emphasizing community, purpose and the outdoors, which is designed to support remote workers and their families as they relocate to West Virginia in pursuit of a high quality of life and an outdoor-driven lifestyle. This session will explore the role of trails in a burgeoning outdoor economy and why they will be essential to the type of community development that retains and recruits people to live in West Virginia and the Industrial Heartland.

10:30 am-11:00 am: Workshop Focus Breakouts (Q)

Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep-dive into the topics covered in the “Trails and the Outdoor Economy – Building Community in West Virginia” summit session.

11:15 am-12:15 pm: Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A National Park for the Community (R)

Trails create physical links between Cuyahoga Valley National Park and communities. Partner relationships and programs enhance these connections. As the park approaches its 50th anniversary, the National Park Service seeks to deepen connections even further through a Community Access Plan. This session will focus on the park’s role as an anchor location within the region’s interconnected park and trail system.

12:15 pm-12:45 pm: Workshop Focus Breakouts (S)

Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep dive into the topics covered in the “Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A National Park for the Community” summit session.

IN PERSON TOUR: 2:00 pm-3:45 pm: Akron Civic Commons: Restoring Trust and the Co-Creation of Equitable Parks, Trails and Open Spaces (Tour 3A) [Sold Out]

Akron Civic Commons is a resident-led community partnership that seeks to co-create, co-design and co-steward accessible, equitable and welcoming parks, trails, and open spaces along 3-miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Akron. This session will examine how Akron Civic Commons addressed issues of mistrust and equity in the Summit Lake neighborhood while led to the $10 million dollar Summit Lake Vision Plan. Using the Akron Civic Commons values of community engagement, socioeconomic mixing, value creation and environmental sustainability, our resident-led work is creating equitable parks, stimulating neighborhood revitalization and creating a legacy for future generations.

IN PERSON TOUR: 2:00 pm-3:15 pm: Wendy Park Bridge & Whiskey Island Connector Trail Tour (Tour 3B) [Sold Out]

Join Cleveland Metroparks’ Chief Planning and Design Officer, Sean McDermott, to tour the new Wendy Park Bridge and Whiskey Island Connector Trail, both part of a federal USDOT Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant-funded suite of projects that will officially open in late June. The Wendy Park Bridge is a new 500-foot bridge spanning the Norfolk Western railway on Whiskey Island that will bring the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail to the shores of Lake Erie at Wendy Park. The Whiskey Island Connector connects the new bridge to link Wendy Park to Edgewater Park, both part of Cleveland Metroparks’ Lakefront Reservation. Participants are required to review and submit the Waiver at the bottom of this page.

8:45 am-9:30 am: Ohio Updates: ODNR & ODOT (T)

As an update to the Ohio Trails Vision, released by ODNR Director Mary Mertz (2019), ODNR will detail its initiatives to realize this Ohio Trails Vision, including efforts to inventory all recreational trails in Ohio, continue to build and promote the Buckeye Trail, increase opportunities for mountain biking, designate new water trails, and improve trail-access opportunities for all Ohioans.

ODOT will share updates on their Walk.Bike.Ohio Plan, US and State Bike Route initiative, ODOT’s engagement of partners and stakeholders to promote multimodal transportation improvements.

9:30 am-10:30 am: Wrap Up Event: Creating More Inclusive Trails & Outdoor Spaces (U)

Cleveland’s own Leon Bibb of WKYC-TV will moderate the wrap up event of the Industrial Heartland & Cleveland Trails Summit, where we examine the barriers that prevent people from accessing and using trails, parks and outdoor public spaces. This discussion with national thought leaders will explore the lived experiences of people of color in the outdoors as well as recent trends that explore barriers to trail use with a focus on race and gender. This will be a thought-provoking and interactive discussion that will offer innovative ideas on how to create a more inclusive trail experiences for all people.