The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
A WORK IN PROGRESS
Cascade Park still under construction
There will not be much going on in the largest Lorain County Metro Parks property in Elyria this summer, but that’s because it is under construction.
Cascade Park, 170 Cascade St. in Elyria, was taken over by the Metro Parks in January 2015 after years of negotiations with the city of Elyria.
The 135-acre park has two waterfalls that flow directly into the Black River. It was established in 1894 when members of the Ely family, descendants of the founder of Elyria, gifted the land to the city, according to metroparks.cc.
The waterfalls are a major draw for visitors, according to Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda.
“I think they’re one of the world’s natural wonders and we’re fortunate to have them,” said Brinda. “It’s part of the grandeur of one of the most magnificent parks in the Lake Erie basin.”
The city was actually founded because of the available river power to produce energy for early industries, Brinda said.
A grain mill once stood about where the boardwalk near East Falls is now, she said.
As the city plans and presents itself, the falls are listed as one of the unique natural assets.
“We’re trying to link the downtown to the river and the falls,” Brinda said. “The observation deck is helpful. It would be better to have some restaurants to provide a view of the falls.
“That’s one of the things we’re looking at for downtown.”
Brinda recalls early family memories of feeding ducks at Cascade Park. Others shared close relational memories of the falls as well.
The modern park features three main picnic areas and its forests are home to oak, sycamore, cottonwood, buckeye tulip poplar, willow and black walnut trees. It is split into four sections: the main portion, 19 Acres, Ely Woods and the waterfalls near the Elyria Police Station.
The park is currently under construction, but 19 Acres has been completed and is currently open to the public, according to Metro Parks Executive Director James Ziemnik.
Ziemnik said the Elyria Rotary Club donated $300,000 towards an allinclusive playground. When the park is completed there will be new restrooms, picnic area, trails and upgraded parking. An excavator moves earth near the Mendel and Hillsdale court entrance of Cascade Park, June 20. The 135-acre park was taken over by the Lorain County Metro Parks in January 2015, and its second phase of renovations are underway. 19 Acres has been completed and is currently open to the public, according to Metro Parks Executive Director James Ziemnik.
“It’s just a whole host of new things,” he said.
Brinda said the city forged a 50-year agreement allowing the Metro Parks to manage Cascade Park so needed improvements can go forward.
An amphitheater is planned for the bottom of the sledding hill, she said. Another idea includes a lighted bridge joining Elywood and Cascade parks almost where the ford is now. And they’re considering a large nature center which could be rented for events, she said.
“That would be a spectacular way for people to enjoy nature down there,” Brinda said.
In the next five or six years, fundraising efforts will include philanthropic avenues as well as grants and Metro Park sources of funding, she said.
“We don’t have final figures for all of those things yet,” Brinda said. “It’s an ambitious proposition.”
In a late addition to the April 20 meeting of the Lorain County Metropolitan Park District Board, the commissioners accepted the bid of Precision Engineering and Contracting of Solon, which will receive $3,409,636 for completing an altered version of the phase two plan for the park.
In discussion with Behnke Landscape Architecture, which acted as a consultant on the project, it was determined it would be better to hold off on some of the improvements
initially planned for this phase, Ziemnik said.
“Those items that are being deducted are shelters, modifications to the existing building that would permit indoor/outdoor restrooms,” he said.
At the time the bids were coming in, the board was awaiting information from the Ohio Department of Transportation on the timing of a project to extend a trail.
“Much to our pleasant surprise, they are letting the project move forward at a quicker pace,” Ziemnik said. “Initially, we thought that was going to be delayed for several years because of a mussel study in the Black River. But that’s no longer necessary.”
Precision has worked with the district in the past having built the gazebo at Forest Hills Golf Course.
“It’s such a project of scope, I think several of the local guys just weren’t interested,” Ziemnik replied.
The project will begin in mid-May with completion by mid-July 2018, he said.
At the end of 2017, the district will evaluate where the project stands and possibly open up some parts of the park to the public, Ziemnik said.
Perhaps the newest thing that will come at the end of construction is a new entrance to the grounds.
“Where you used to come in off of a side street, you’ll now be entering closer to West River Road,” Ziemnik explained.
The entire park will be
completed and reopened in 2018.
The completion of the park will also complete another link in the Black River Trail.
According to Ziemnik, the trail bisects the whole county and it officially starts in Elyria, but it is technically connected to the Northcoast Inland Trail that goes from Toledo to Lorain County.
“It passes through
Elyria, it will pass through Cascade Park up towards Midway Mall into our High Meadows and then into our Black River Reservation,” Ziemnik said.
The Black River Trail was started in the 1990s and work is continuing on it to this day.
“There’s a missing link in Cascade Park, and then at the north end in Lorain we’ve got several phases scheduled in the coming
year to finish that out into by Henderson Road, then it’ll terminate at Lake Erie in about five years,” he said.
Along the trail in Elyria, residents and hikers can experience Bur Oak, a clearing with two reservable picnic areas.
“It’s a big picnic area; family meeting area,” Ziemnik said.
Staff Writer Carol Harper contributed to this report.