Cleveland Metroparks today celebrated the opening of the initial phases of the transformative Euclid Creek Greenway, a multi-phased trail project to improve connections to the lakefront and park access on the east side of Cleveland.
 
As of today, guests can begin exploring the initial phases of the Euclid Creek Greenway including a half-mile all purpose trail connection from the intersection of Euclid Creek Parkway and Highland Road to Euclid Avenue and a nearly half-mile all purpose trail connection on the site of the former Euclid Central Middle School from Euclid Avenue to Chardon Road on its way to the lakefront. The completed portions of the trail also improve safety at the Highland Road entrance to Euclid Creek Reservation with new traffic and pedestrian signals in the city of Euclid.
 
“The multi-phased Euclid Creek Greenway is part of our goal to improve park access and trail connections on Cleveland’s east side,” said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian M. Zimmerman. “Once complete, the entire Euclid Creek Greenway will contain more than two miles of all purpose trail in the cities of Cleveland and Euclid, connecting more than 36,000 nearby residents to parks, jobs, schools, businesses and Lake Erie.”

In addition to the new all purpose trail connection through the site of the former Euclid Central Middle School along Euclid Avenue, Cleveland Metroparks is actively restoring the former schoolgrounds into a 17-acre park with a large open greenspace as well as meadow and forest habitat. Cleveland Metroparks will also soon be adding a half-mile natural surface loop trail that will wind through the restored habitats.
 
In late 2021, Cleveland Metroparks was awarded $950,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program to advance the planning and design of four trail and bicycle connections on Cleveland’s East Side including the Euclid Creek Greenway Extension that will traverse an additional one and a half miles through Cleveland neighborhoods and complete the lakefront trail connection. Construction funding has been awarded for a third phase of the all purpose trail along Chardon Road from the former middle school to St. Clair Avenue and additional funding will be sought to complete the connection to Euclid Beach, Villa Angela and Wildwood parks within Collinwood. Cleveland Metroparks held several public meetings in fall 2023 to engage the community in the potential alignment of the Euclid Creek Greenway Extension. The next public meeting is planned for Thursday, December 7 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Collinwood Recreation Center.  
 
In 2019, the Euclid Creek Greenway corridor was identified by the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan as a “Critical Gap” in Northeast Ohio’s transportation network. Of the more than 800 miles of trail routes that were evaluated by the plan, the Euclid Creek Greenway was one of 12 Critical Gaps totaling 13.5 miles that are of the highest priority based on function, benefits, community needs, local support, equity and accessibility.
 
Funding for the first and third phases of the Euclid Creek Greenway is supported by Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) program funds through the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), and the first and second phases are supported by the Clean Ohio Trails Fund through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Cleveland Metroparks also received nearly $200,000 in funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to assist with the restoration and reforestation of the former Euclid Central Middle School property.
 
For more information on the Euclid Creek Greenway, visit clevelandmetroparks.com/EuclidCreekTrails and for information about the RAISE project, visit 2023raise.cuyahogagreenways.com.