Public input sought

Lorain, Avon Lake to host Connectivity meetings

Area residents will get at least two more chances to share their opinions about better ways to travel through Lorain County’s coastal communities.

Meanwhile, new developments in Vermilion, Lorain, Sheffield Lake and Avon Lake could create new attractions for residents and for visitors by land or by lake.

Two more informational meetings are scheduled for the Lorain County Lakefront Connectivity Plan, an effort by the Lorain County Commission with Lorain County Metro Parks and the four shoreline cities.

The meetings are open to the public and will be:

• 6 p.m., July 27, at Lorain High School, 2600 Ashland Ave., Lorain. Tours of the High School will be available afterward.

• 6 p.m., Aug. 2, at the Lake House, 32756

Lake Road, Avon Lake.

Discussion, so far, has centered around new trails and amenities for residents and tourists along U.S. 6, which runs more or less along the shore.

Participants at the next two meetings can weigh in on their preferences for walking trails or bike lanes in the four cities.

“The whole point of this is to get feedback; and if you don’t come, we don’t get your opinion,” said Michelle Johnson, director of Environmental Design Group, the consultant leading the planning process.

There also will be eight conceptual drawings of new developments on four potential priority sites, one site in each of the four coastal communities.

The drawings show new houses, offices and stores, instead of existing buildings, located along Lake Erie to lure new residents and visitors.

The planning process is paid for with a grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

The grant will not pay for the redevelopment of four sites, Johnson said.

However, city officials and business leaders can use the drawings to spark public interest and excitement and show developers what could happen in the county, she said.

The most dramatic redesign may be for Sheffield Lake, which would get a new marina in the city-owned Shoreway Shopping Center.

Upon first considering a marina, the consultants were in disbelief, said Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring.

“It kind of catches everybody off guard,” Bring said. “It is radical.”

Vermilion residents and businesses take advantage of their river, Bring said.

Sheffield Lake does not have a river, but the city has a boat launch that could lead to a marina south of Lake Road, he said.

“It may not ever happen in my time, but it’s just something to think about,” Bring said. “If you never think about anything, nothing ever happens.”

The area around Lorain City Hall, 200 W. Erie Ave., is the priority site for Lorain.

The area could be rebuilt as a downtown civic complex with a hotel, retail and office space and a marina between the finger piers north of the city water plant.

That area may be the most important piece of property in Lorain County, said Tony Gallo, president of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce.

There are redesigns for the salvage yard north of U.S. 6 on the Vermilion-Lorain city line and for the Artstown Shopping Center across from the NRG power plant in Avon Lake.

“I like the fact that it’s not just the same old, same old,” Gallo said about the designs. “I like the fact that each city had something unique as well as practical to do with the lakefront.”

“The whole point of this is to get feedback; and if you don’t come, we don’t get your opinion.” — Michelle Johnson, director of Environmental Design Group