Work starts on century-old vision for a Cleveland Metroparks connector on West Side - cleveland.com

The Old Lorain Road Connector Trail, highlighted in yellow, will link the Cleveland Metroparks by the LIttle Met Golf Course to neighborhoods adjacent to the Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital.Cleveland Metroparks

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Metroparks is about to begin construction on a century-old idea - that of a park connection from what is now the Fairview Hospital area on Cleveland’s West Side to the Rocky River valley more than 100 feet below.

Nationally noted landscape architect and planner Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. wrote notes on the potential for the connection during his visits in 1915 and 1916.

“There is an excellent opportunity for an attractive approach on a good grade following the line of the old road (Old Lorain Road), but it is essential to protect the bank of the ravine through which the road descends,” Olmsted wrote.

Flash forward to 2025. The Cleveland Metroparks next week will begin tree removals in preparation for construction of a trail linking the neighborhood to the Metroparks' Rocky River Reservation.

The trail is expected to open in the spring of 2026.

“It’s a pretty critical connection,” Cleveland City Councilman Charles Slife said. “You see comparable connections on the other side of the valley and throughout the county. But in West Park, we’ve been kind of lacking.”

The Old Lorain Road Connector Trail joins three others throughout Cuyahoga County now being built in partnership with other local governments:

All will be maintained by the Metroparks.

The Old Lorain Road Connector will be the shortest of these, at just a third of a mile, but importantly will provide a safe alternative for walkers and bicyclists to reach the park.

The only option now is Old Lorain Road, which has no sidewalks, pointed out Joe Dill, who worked on the project as deputy director of the West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development Corp.

“It’s a very tight road. There are no buffering areas for pedestrians. It has a lot of turns that you cannot see around,” Dill said. “It’s not a street I would describe as safe. You’re basically walking in a ditch. And since it is a hill, cars go down it at a good rate of speed.”

Old Lorain Road is steep, narrow and windy as it passes under a Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital employee parking garage walkway.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Though recently repaved, it’s also a road frequently plagued by erosion and broken pavement. There is little to no flat space on either side of the pavement.

To get around that issue, part of the path will not follow the road, explained Sean McDermott, chief planning and design officer for the Metroparks.

Instead, it will begin to the south on Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital property near the intersection of Riveredge Road and Bradgate Avenue. From there, it will wrap around a Cleveland Clinic employee parking garage before meeting the road roughly halfway down the hill.

Dropping 112 feet overall, only about 300 feet of the path will be flat.

The top of the trail will include new trees, benches and trash cans, but no trailhead parking. There is public parking at the bottom at the Little Met Golf Course, and additional parking in the park just across Valley Parkway.

This is the design for the top entrance of the Old Lorain Road Trail Connector, near the corner of Riveredge Road and Bradgate Avenue in Cleveland.Cleveland Metroparks

Nearly the entire cost is being covered by the Cleveland Clinic ($500,000), the county in conjunction with the West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development ($750,000) and the city of Cleveland ($750,000).

“That’s what it takes to get done,” McDermott said of the mix. The Clinic also provided an easement for its property to be used.

Dill predicted strong use from the neighborhoods on top of the hill, whereas now walkers or bike riders are only occasionally seen trying to navigate up or down the windy and steep road.

“It’s crucially important to that community,” McDermott said.

“Access to this park has been a matter of study and a matter of interest for a long time,” McDermott said.

Rich Exner covers regional development and transportation for cleveland.com.

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