The Mandel Community Trail runs along the north side of North Marginal Road and the Shoreway highway, connecting Downtown Cleveland at East 9th Street and Gordon Park at East 55th Street. Much of the lakefront here is only worth passing through, not visiting, featuring barbed wire and Burke Lakefront Airport on the right (Noah Belli). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Trail links Downtown, Gordon Park
Today, officials and community partners celebrated the opening of the Mandel Community Trail, a $12 million, 2.7-mile off-road connection along Cleveland’s east-side lakefront between Downtown Cleveland at East 9th Street and Gordon Park at East 55th Street.
The new trail is a partnership between Cuyahoga County, which managed construction of the project, Cleveland Metroparks, which will manage and operate the trail, and the City of Cleveland. The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation provided a $5 million gift to Cleveland Metroparks for construction of the trail.
It was complemented by $5.6 million in funding from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) through the Federal Highway Administration’s Carbon Reduction Program and local match funds provided by Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland.
“The Mandel Community Trail turns a missing link into a new doorstep to Cleveland’s lakefront,” said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman in a written statement.
“It gives people a safe, off-road way to connect from neighborhoods to our lakefront, parks, marinas and other community destinations, and it shows what we can accomplish together through partnership around a shared vision for a more connected Cleveland and lakefront,” he said.
Map of the Mandel Community Trail, originally called the North Marginal Trail, linking Downtown Cleveland at lower left and Gordon Park at upper right (Cleveland Metroparks).
The 2.7-mile paved Mandel Community Trail completes a critical missing link of the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway, connecting to the existing trail from East 55th to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It is one of many lakefront improvements recently made or underway.
The trail travels along the north side of North Marginal Road and links downtown’s North Coast Harbor and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to lakefront destinations including East 55th Street Marina, the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center and Gordon Park. The project also includes significant trail improvements between East 55th and MLK.
“The Mandel Community Trail is an important part of our broader vision for a connected greenway network that links neighborhoods, residents, and destinations across Cuyahoga County,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
“By creating safe, accessible routes for walking and biking, we are expanding opportunities for people to reach the lakefront and ensure that our region’s natural and recreational assets are available to everyone,” he noted.
The Mandel Community Trail includes this lakefront promenade past the new Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Boathouse at the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center near the East 55th Marina and Gordon Park (Noah Belli).
The new trail provides safe, accessible access to the lakefront for people walking and bicycling from the St. Clair-Superior and Glenville neighborhoods and surrounding communities.
Prior to the project, pedestrians and cyclists traveling along this portion of North Marginal were required to share the roadway with vehicles to reach lakefront destinations on Cleveland’s east side. The Mandel Community Trail also connects to University Circle, Doan Brook and the Shaker Lakes via the regional trail network.
“The Mandel Community Trail will now provide Clevelanders access to their lakefront, to our parks and public spaces, and to the opportunities that make our city stronger,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.
“This trail closes a critical gap on our east side and brings us one step closer to a Cleveland where every neighborhood has a clear path to our natural assets and to the rest of our city,” Bibb said.
Not all of the Mandel Community Trail’s lakefront environs are so desolate. This portion goes past the Shoreline Apartments at right. Next door, a 209-unit affordable lakefront apartment complex is about to see construction start (Noah Belli).
The trail is part of a broader investment in Cleveland’s east side lakefront, where the Mandel Foundation has provided $21 million in recent years to several projects.
Those include enhancements to the 48-acre portion of Gordon Park south of Interstate 90 between East 72nd Street and MLK, and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Boathouse at the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center. Enhancements to Gordon Park are underway following a public engagement process.
“The Mandel brothers’ commitment to Cleveland was rooted in the belief that strong communities are built through long-term investments that benefit future generations,” said Jehuda Reinharz, president & CEO of the Mandel Foundation.
“We are proud to support a project that connects more residents to Cleveland’s lakefront while contributing to the long-term vitality of the city’s east-side neighborhoods,” he continued.
The Mandel Community Trail ends at East 9th Street, next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In August, a newly-paved section of the trail along North Marginal Road is seen here near downtown (Harrison Whittaker).
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The Mandel Community Trail was included as a regional link in the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan, a collaborative effort to envision, plan and implement trail connections throughout Cuyahoga County that improve mobility, health, well-being and economic vitality. NOACA helped guide implementation of the regionally significant route along the Lake Erie waterfront.
“The Mandel Community Trail fills a critical gap in the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and demonstrates how strategic transportation planning can turn a vision into reality,” said Grace Gallucci, NOACA’s executive director and CEO.
“The trail is a prime example of NOACA’s role as the region’s metropolitan planning organization — identifying critical transportation needs, prioritizing investments to address those needs, and helping move projects from planning to implementation,” she said. “The result is a more connected, accessible, and safer Northeast Ohio.”
The Mandel Community Trail is part of continued investment to improve access to Cleveland’s lakefront and connect neighborhoods with parks, recreation, cultural destinations and other community assets. For more information about the Mandel Community Trail and current project updates, visit clevelandmetroparks.com.
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