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Makeover Underway Along Popular Hike and bike Trail by John benson For decades, hikers and bike riders using the Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Bike & Hike Trail through Sagamore Hills were forced to share a dangerous one-mile stretch of Brandywine Road. But now, the agency has partnered with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and is moving forward with a $2.5 million project that not only will get them off the thoroughfare but also will upgrade the Brandywine Falls parking lot. S03 SAFETy MAKEOVER UN- DERWAy ALONG POPULAR BIKE AND HIKE TRAIL--OPT Parking and trail improvements are underway near Brandywine Falls. Visitors are being routed to a temporary parking area during construction. “We realized for years that was not people’s favorite part of the trail,” said Metro Parks Chief of Planning and Development Dave Whited. “There’s just not a lot of room for the bikes there on the shoulder. Plus the gradient of the road there is pretty steep both ways from I-271 north and south. So we partnered up with the national park Service. It took us six years to try to come up with a way to get the bikes off the road. We looked at a number of options and it turned out we decided to take the bike trail off-road on the west side of Brandywine and through mostly National Park property to make an easier traverse for the bicyclists.” The delay stemmed from a lack of funding as well as the environmental impact study requirement anytime federal land is being used. Once monies were budgeted and the study was approved, different trail designs were explored before the current plan was selected. “We’re using some of other people’s money to do the trail.” Whited said. “We have $700,000 of federal money, which comes with some strings. They need to approve our engineering. We have $250,000 of state money that will help us pay for the project. We also have to work with the county engineer because we’re building part of the road in the right of way of Brandywine Road.” 32 The trail near Brandywine Falls is being rerouted to make it safer for bikers and hikers. The remaining portion of the cost will come out of the Metro Parks, Serving Summit County general fund. The project, scheduled for completion by the end of the year, includes the building of a pedestrian-only bridge over I-271, as well as the relocation of the trail anywhere from a yard or two to several hundred feet from Brandywine Road. “We finally realized that section of Brandywine was a disconnect in the Bike & Hike Trail,” Whited said. “People coming south would stop there, turn around and go back. And people going north would stop and turn around as well, because they didn’t want to deal with that road and that steep grade. I’m not going to say it was dangerous because it’s been there for 30 years or so with very little incidents. There have been a couple of bike crashes down at the hill but nothing real significant.” Still, Whited said Metro Parks officials believe the trail relocation will result in increased traffic. As for the current expansion of the Brandywine Falls parking lot, which will remain closed for five months during construction, when finished it will triple in size offering roughly 90 parking spaces. Brandywine Falls is one of the national park’s most popular destinations along its 33.5-mile bike and hike trail. “It’s worth it to get some better use of that trail up there where it’s more scenic and less challenging physically,” Whited said. ∞ The Brecksville <strong>Magazine</strong>, July 2011
y Matt leavitt Approximately 45 people at a May 19 town hall meeting kicked the tires of the newly formed Cuyahoga County Council, which received a facelift in November 2009 when voters approved a new county government to include 11 council members and a county executive. Representing District 6, which includes 21 cities from Bentleyville to Broadview Heights, Independence and Brecksville, Councilman Jack Schron was on hand to speak with the gathering in the Broadview Heights council chambers. The Chagrin Falls native said his main goal for the meeting was to establish credibility with Cuyahoga County voters and to update the citizens on “shovel in the ground” projects in Cuyahoga County. Schron, a Republican who is part of the legislative branch that manages the county’s $1.4 billion budget, has been the CEO of Jergens Inc., for over 25 years and served in the U.S. Army for 28 years before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He credited the previous county administration for providing momentum for the $6 billion currently being spent in economic development projects in the county, including the Medical Mart and Convention Center in downtown Cleveland. Currently, 62 companies are committed to having a presence at the Medical Mart, and Schron stated that the majority of those companies do not have a presence in Cuyahoga County and that could benefit his district’s communities. “We are going to specifically target those 62 companies and say, ‘Locate a operation in Broadview Heights, or Brecksville or Solon or anywhere in this region, so when a company sees your kiosk at the Medical Mart, you can take them out to Broadview Heights to see your call center,’” Schron said. He said he believes that each individual community in Cuyahoga County should keep its autonomy, but regionalism within the county should be used to increase efficiency such as purchasing products or services. Regionalism would also improve the county’s infrastructure as fewer contracts would be needed to complete road projects, as currently each community requires a separate contract for road improvement projects, accord- The Brecksville <strong>Magazine</strong>, July 2011 New County Representative Schron Targets New business, New Government, Regionalism V08, M51, I51 NEW COUNTy REPRESENTATIVE SCHRON TARGETS NEW BUSINESS, NEW GOVERNMENT, REGIONALISM Cuyahoga County District 6 Councilman Jack Schron addresses a town hall meeting in Broadview Heights on May 19. Photo by M. Leavitt ing to Schron. He said he further believes that streamlining the county’s computer system will increase the effectiveness of communication between the county’s departments as currently each department uses different computer systems. The new county government has hired a chief information officer, which will lead the information consolidation effort. Another goal for the county is to use less paper through issuing electronic checks, he said. Because of the corruption of the pre- Complete Landscape & Design Service Call for an estimate designed to meet your needs for home and business 330.659.3396 www.sasaklandscape.com vious county administration, Schron emphasized the role of oversight in the new county government. One of council’s ideas to improve the accountability of Cuyahoga County’s finances is to hire an inspector general who is independent of the county’s government to examine the dollars being spent by the county. The position would have to be added the county charter and be placed on the ballot to be voted upon by county voters. Schron also said that the county council passed a stringent code of ethics. Schron said he believes that within three to five years, the new Cuyahoga County government will be an administration of which residents will be proud and after which Ohio counties will model their future governments. Broadview Heights Mayor Sam Alai said he has been impressed with the county’s executive council. “When the new county government first started I was skeptical, but now I believe that we are heading in the right direction with this new county government and I am impressed in what they are doing in the economic development front,” he said. Alai also said he believes that the numerous downtown Cleveland projects will have a positive effect on the Brecksville-Broadview Heights area. ∞ Experts in Landscaping since 1976 33
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