Lake Metroparks officials recently voted to advance plans for a new park along the Grand River, while state legislators committed financial support to expand a new trail along Lake Erie.
The Lake Metroparks Park Board voted last week to accept a bid to pave an entrance and parking lot at Hemlock Ridge Park, an upcoming park between the Grand River and Interstate 90 in Leroy and Concord townships. The entrance would run west of Vrooman Road, a short distance north of the highway entrance ramps.
Metroparks Executive Director Paul Palagyi expects that the entrance will be completed over the winter. He said that the park district hopes to provide public access to the entrance and a loop trail next year.
The area that officials hope to open next year is only a portion of a nearly 600-acre property.
“Every year for years you’re going to see us do another little loop or another little amenity,” Palagyi said.
Even though a large trail network will not be available right away, Palagyi said that it will be “pretty hard to get lost” since the land is bounded by the river and highway. There are also a number of paths cut into the property by a previous owner.
He said that the full 600-acre property is similar in size to the Lake Erie Bluffs park in Perry Township. Palagyi added that Hemlock Ridge will provide “incredible views of the Grand River.”
“It’s a beautiful property, it’s got a mature woods on it, lots of wildlife, lots of stunning views, so I think that as that opens up more and more, people are really going to appreciate it,” he said.
The entrance bid was awarded to Platform Contracting of Mentor for $611,061, Palagyi added.
Meanwhile, state legislators voted in June to provide $1 million in funding to Lake Metroparks’ Lakefront Trail project as part of their biennial capital budget and one-time strategic community investment fund. Palagyi said that the funding will go to the trail’s third phase.
The park district opened phase one of the trail in April, extending west for about 2,300 miles from the ramp leading to the pier at Painesville Township Park.
Park officials are currently working on a revetment wall to protect the shoreline for the trail’s second phase. The park board approved a bid of just over $1 million from Shoreline Contractors for the wall in May.
Metroparks Deputy Director Vince Urbanski said that the wall will extend about 800 feet, and he expects it to be completed by the end of the year. Palagyi added that the phase two trail will extend for the same length, and work on that segment of the trail is expected to take place next year.
Palagyi said that Lake Metroparks is currently working to negotiate access for the third phase, which would extend along the shoreline of the former Diamond Shamrock Property between Painesville Township Park and Fairport Harbor.
Urbanski said that the park district hopes to start engineering and design work for that phase in the fall and begin constructing that portion of the trail in 2026.
Phase three would also contain a parking lot and driveway off of Fairport Nursery Road, he added.
Palagyi attributed the state funding to state Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord Township, and state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland.
Additional funding for phases two and three is expected to come from a $1.8 million federal grant that the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency announced in April. NOACA CEO and Executive Director Grace Galluci said at the time that the agency’s board would likely vote on the grant in September after a project plan review was completed.
“We’ve obviously been successful with getting several grants for the project, but a good share of this will end up coming out of the park funding,” Palagyi said.
“We’re aggressive and we’re going after grants wherever we can,” he added.
Palagyi said that 6,000 people visited the trail’s first section in May and June. He encouraged visitors to check the trail out at night.
“It’s a phenomenal view on a clear night, it’s an amazing view of the stars, so I really encourage people, even if you’ve been out there and you’ve seen it, you’ve got to check it out at night and really see it on a clear night and see the stars, it’s pretty amazing,” he said.
