The Cleveland Rowing Foundation, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, has secured a 7-acre commercial riverfront site in the Cleveland Flats for kayaking, canoeing, rowing and dragon boating. The public site will be known as Rivergate Park and will offer access for healthy, people-powered activities.
“Today marks another giant step in the revitalization of our downtown,” commented Bob Valerian, Cleveland Rowing Foundation’s President. “Rivergate will become a magnet bringing thousands to the Flats to enjoy the increasing natural beauty of our river.”
Over 850 people, including eight local high school and college crew teams, kayakers and dragon boaters, regularly use CRF’s current boathouse. However, the fate of the current facility became doubtful with the passage of the recent casino initiative which included the leased boathouse property in its footprint.
“CRF approached The Trust for Public Land to help negotiate and secure a new site and TPL was delighted to assist,” remarked Bill Carroll, TPL’s Ohio State Director. “Rivergate presents a rare opportunity to create a park and recreational gem on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in the center of downtown Cleveland.”
Rivergate also affords the space to create a world class water sports venue capable of hosting national regattas. “We hope to bring exciting new events to the Cuyahoga which will attract thousands of visitors to our city,” remarked Theresa Gang, CRF’s Executive Director.
For more information: http://www.clevelandrows.org
2 Responses to “Rivergate Park created for kayaking, canoeing & dragon boating”
Veritas
It’s June 2011, and there is still no park, and no access for kayakers. This group said what they needed to to get grants, but are still operating like a private club for rich suburbanites. Check it out. I drove down there with my kayak and got yelled at for trespassing.
Executive Director
The Cleveland Rowing Foundation (CRF) has partnered with Cleveland Metroparks to host “IGO” (Institute of the Great Outdoors) paddling programs. This is an exciting partnership that will begin in July 2011. All IGO programs are listed bimonthly in the Emerald Necklace Newsletter and may also be found on Cleveland Metroparks website. For details, visit http://www.clevelandmetroparks.com or call IGO at (216) 341-1704. CRF is discussing opportunities for a kayak rental concession at Rivergate. CRF’s web site will announce when arrangements with a rental operator have been finalized.
The Cuyahoga River is a federal navigation channel with commercial traffic daily. Safe river operations are CRF’s paramount concern. CRF is developing safety and operational procedures for private kayaking from the Rivergate facility. Private kayak owners may not launch from the Rivergate Park facility until those procedures have been finalized and adopted by the CRF Board
http://www.clevelandrows.org/kayaking