Fifty years after the infamous fire that led to the cleanup of the Cuyahoga River, the Cleveland Metroparks program will build the city’s first public boat slips on the waterway, with 18 public day-use docks at Heritage and Rivergate parks.
The Metroparks announced Friday that it had received more than $1.6 million from the Federal Boating Infrastructure Program to construct the slips by 2021. The balance of the $2.2 million cost will come from the park district.
“The mission of Cleveland Metroparks is connecting people with nature, which includes finding ways to enhance amenities and recreational opportunities for boaters along the Cuyahoga River,” Brian M. Zimmerman, Cleveland Metroparks CEO, said in a statement. “To receive the support for this project at a time when the Cuyahoga River is the focus of a 50-year celebration of revival is a fitting testimony to the river’s resurgence as a place for recreation as well as industry.”
Heritage Park is on the West Bank of the Flats next to Canal Basin park and will have 12 slips. Rivergate Park on the East Bank will have six slips. The East Bank of the Flats is working with students from Maritime High School to provide docking in safe areas. All the slips are ADA accessible and can accommodate boats up to 26 feet long.
